NCAA Bylaw: 

17.1.5.1 Sickle Cell Solubility Test. The examination or evaluation of student-athletes beginning their initial season of eligibility and students trying out for a team shall include a sickle cell solubility test (SST) unless documented results of a prior test are provided to the institution.

Most college-aged students would have been tested at birth with the standard SCT genetic screening. There are a few ways to obtain the document. We advise trying one of the following first.

  • Contact your pediatrician or birth hospital and get documentation showing your sickle cell trait status.
  • Request a copy of your newborn screening/results from your state's department of health (your birth state)
  • Click here for the link to the CDC resource page with each state's link https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/resources/h.htm.

How to get tested for sickle cell trait

If you do not have your sickle cell trait status on record, you will need to get a blood draw. This can be done in a few ways.

  1. Your physician must order the test (some insurances may cover cost). Check on the cost beforehand.
  2. An agreement with Quest Diagnostics and the NCAA using the online Medivo website (cost is $32.50, and you MUST be at least 18 years old). A new agreement with Quest Diagnostics' national laboratories will give NCAA member institutions and their student-athletes access to affordable blood tests for SCT through its 2,000 patient-service centers (PSC). This is an online patient-centered laboratory test ordering service. 
  • The student-athlete will go to the following website https://sicklecelltesting.pwnhealth.com/order
  • Through the easy-to-use and secure online system, the student-athlete will:
    • Sign up and order the SCT test. 
    • Find the nearest Quest Diagnostics PSC location to them.
    • Pay for the screening test and physician service with a single $32.50 fee. 
    • Print the Quest Diagnostic test requisition form. The student-athlete then MUST take the Quest Diagnostics test requisition form to a Quest Diagnostics PSC location they chose to have their blood drawn. There are no exceptions. 
  •  Test results will go back to Medivo for review. Medivo will post the results to their website for the student-athlete to view and print. 
  •  If a test is negative, the student-athlete must provide the Rivier University Sports Medicine Staff with a copy of the test results printed from Medivo's website. On average, test results can be ready between 24-48 hours.
  •  If a test is positive, the student-athlete will receive a phone call directly from a physician at PWN Health as well as an email with a link to go back online to request and pay for the confirmation reflex testing ($30) through the PWN Health online system.
  •  The student-athlete may need to have additional blood drawn for the confirmation test. The student-athlete will then provide the results to their primary care physician and upload the results to SWOL.

 Positive sickle cell trait student-athletes will follow the following policy.

  • If a student-athlete has tested positive for sickle cell trait, the student-athlete can continue to participate in athletics without significant restrictions. An individualized protocol will be developed and implemented under the direction of the team physician, the athletic training staff, and the head coach to help reduce the risk of sickle cell trait-induced health problems due to participation in training or competition.
  • Coaches will be notified confidentially by the athletic training staff of their athletes who carry the sickle cell trait.
  • The risk of complications due to sickle cell trait cannot be completely eliminated; therefore, each student-athlete remains responsible for the monitoring of their health and for taking precautions to reduce risks associated with sickle cell trait or any other health condition.
  • The goal of the Athletic Training Group is to create an environment that encourages the student-athlete with SCT to immediately report any signs and symptoms to the AT staff and coach.