Sickle cell disease is usually detected during pregnancy or soon after birth.
Blood tests can also be carried out at any time to check for the condition or to see if you're a sickle cell carrier and are at risk of having a child with the condition.
Screening to check if a baby's at risk of being born with sickle cell disease is offered to all pregnant women in England.
In parts of England where sickle cell disease is more common, pregnant women are offered a blood test to check if they carry sickle cell.
In areas where sickle cell disease is less common, a questionnaire about your family origins is used to work out whether you should have a blood test for sickle cell.
You can also ask to have the blood test even if your family origins do not suggest your baby would be at high risk of sickle cell disease.
Screening should ideally be carried out before you're 10 weeks pregnant so you and your partner have time to consider the option of further tests to find out if your baby will be born with sickle cell disease.
Find out more about screening for sickle cell disease during pregnancy
In England screening for sickle cell disease is offered as part of the newborn blood spot test (heel prick test).
This can help to:
If newborn screening suggests your baby may have sickle cell disease, a second blood test will be carried out to confirm the diagnosis.
A blood test can be done at any time to find out if you carry sickle cell and are at risk of having a child with sickle cell disease.
This is also known as having the sickle cell trait.
Getting tested can be particularly useful if you have a family history of sickle cell disease or your partner is known to carry the sickle cell trait.
If you think you could be a carrier, talk to a GP about having the test.
Both men and women can have the test.