Ok...Can sickle cell go undetected for 19 years? There is a female who is 19 years old, she told my bro she has sickle cell and when they tested her as a kid the test came up negative (she is saying they were wrong) and now at age 19 she got tested again and she has sickle cell. My question is, I know when i go to the doctor to get check-ups all my life they have done blood work on me. Wouldnt they know all these years if she had sickle cell because her hemogoblin levels would have been low all this time right? I know i suffer from anemia and whenever they draw blood they test my hemogoblin... so wouldnt her parents have known at birth or earlier that she has the diease? Her father has the trait and her brother has sickle cell the diease. I think she is lying because there is no way she would be healthy all these years and then all of a sudden find out she has sickle cell. And she says she is on 7 different meds but she drinks and goes to the club every weekend!