The parents of a child with sickle cell anemia do not have the disease and are inquiring about the risk of sickle cell disease in future offspring. The nurse practitioner should explain that with each future pregnancy, there is a:

Rationale: A. A 25% chance of having the sickle cell trait occurs when both parents are carriers (heterozygous), not when they are unaffected. B. If both parents are carriers (sickle cell trait, AS), each pregnancy carries a 25% chance that the child will inherit sickle cell disease (homozygous SS). C. Each child also has a 25% chance of inheriting two normal alleles (AA) and being unaffected, but this does not equal 50%. D. A 50% chance of having sickle cell anemia is incorrect; the risk is 25% per pregnancy for two carrier parents.