LGALS3 and sickle cell disease: Considerably lower galectin‐3 levels have also been associated with the rare allele of the LGALS3 genotypes, including rs4644, rs4652, and rs2274273, in populations with diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, sickle cell anemia, and dilated cardiomyopathy (Hu, Chang, Wu, Tsai, & Hsu, 2011; Mendonca Belmont et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2018).