NCAA mandates sickle cell trait screening

Red blood cells of those with SCT can change shape during strenuous exercise and block blood flow to vital organs, and the test is meant to identify athletes who could potentially suffer from this complication. Eight college football players have died from complications related to SCT in the past decade, according to Inside Higher Ed.

Princeton hopes to implement the policy over this coming summer.

Athletes will be offered the option of testing at the University or with their personal physicians.

“Because sickle cell trait is common, and has been linked to sudden death, as well as exertional rhabdomyolysis in athletes, I support screening,” Dr. Margot Putukian, the University’s director of athletic medicine, said in an e-mail. “The trait is easy to screen for, and knowing an athlete’s SCT status can be very helpful to the medical staff in helping our athletes avoid any issues with their participation in sports activities.”

Discussion of an SCT testing requirement began as part of the settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit brought against Rice University and the NCAA by Dale and Bridgette Lloyd, the parents of a former Rice University football player who died from complications related to SCT in 2006 after an intense conditioning practice. The Lloyds never knew he had the trait.

The original proposal called for mandated testing, but some people expressed concern that athletes testing positive could face discrimination. The opt-out option was added as a compromise based on an amendment put forth by the Ivy League.

Wilson School visiting professor Anne Andermann, who is also a physician and epidemiologist, did not take a specific position on the issue of mandatory testing because “complex analysis has to be done on the added value from screening.”

She said, though, that it would be “best not to do [the testing] in a coercive way” and that the desired outcome of the new program should be to “educate people, helping people to be better informed about their health risks.”

Putukian said educational material will be provided to students and that additional consultation would be available upon request.

Part of implementing the new requirement will involve the creation of “additional policies for what to do with the athletes that test positive for SCT, including counseling, how to avoid complications and how to have our athletic medicine staff aid in modifying the athlete’s activities if necessary should the student have any symptoms,” Putukian said.

Student athletes’ reactions to the new rule varied.

Tiffany Dong ’13, a member of the women’s golf team who has already been tested for SCT, said she supported the NCAA’s approval of the new testing rule.

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“I agree with their decision, especially because you can sign a waiver,” she said. “Obviously, if you’re an athlete you need to know if you have sickle cell ... although I feel it doesn’t affect my sport as much as other, more physically demanding sports.”

Dong said a positive result could be “tricky with the recruiting process,” but added that it would be “unjustified to kick someone off the team just because they have SCT unless it is extremely severe.”

Robert Castelo ’13, who is on the men’s lacrosse team, said he would not get tested. He said he thought that, for him, the test would be “unnecessary because statistically it’s not as prevalent in Caucasians as it is in African-Americans and I have no family history of the disease so I think it would be just a hassle.”

Putukian does not envision major problems arising from the testing process, noting, “While it will be a challenge to implement, I am optimistic that we will be able to meet the challenge and create a process that is not overly arduous.”

She added that, in the future, SCT testing may not be an issue at all for college athletes.

“Currently all newborns in the U.S. have required testing, so in the future there may be a way that this information is tracked appropriately before athletes reach college,” she explained. “The test only needs to be done once.”