Births of Kcc3−/− and Kcc1−/−; Kcc3−/− genotypes were fewer still on the genetic background of the SAD mouse model of sickle disease, chosen for its faithful reproduction of the cellular dehydration phenotype of human sickle red cells (Rust et al., 2006; Shmukler et al., 2019) and its relative ease of breeding and genetic analysis compared to other mouse models of sickle cell disease. Here, SLC12A6 is linked to sickle cell disease.