Urines voided during painful sickle cell crises show a characteristic dark brown coloration even though urinary secretion is voluminous and of low specific gravity( 1). The depth of color is further intensified on standing and/or exposure to sunlight. On illumination with Wood's light one of the authors (H.N.N.) observed brilliant magenta fluorescence of sediments suggesting presence of adsorbed porphyrins which, subsequently, were confirmed by qualitative extraction methods ( 2 ) . A quantitative study was then undertaken in order to determine ranges of urinary porphyrins and their precursors excreted during and after typical painful and febrile crises and in patients with sickle cell disease hospitalized for conditions other than painful crisis.Materials and methods. Patients with sickle cell disease were made available for this study through the "Sickle