Question

If both parents are carriers for thalassemia, which is an autosomal recessive disorder, what are the chances of pregnancy resulting in an affected child?

Answer 1

When two carriers have children, each child has a 25% (1 in 4) chance to be affected, a 50% (1 in 2) chance to be a carrierlike each parent, and a 25% (1 in 4) chance to be unaffected and not a carrier. Sometimes, people with only one HBB gene mutation in each cell (carriers) do have mild anemia .