Transient erythroblastopenia of childhood (TEC) is a rare condition, which at onset may be difficult to distinguish from Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA). We have previously shown that mutations in the ribosomal protein S19 gene (RPS19) cause DBA. In order to clarify whether TEC and DBA are allelic, we investigated the segregation of markers spanning the RPS19 gene region on chromosome 19q13.2 and performed sequence analysis of all exons in the RPS19 gene in seven TEC sibling pairs. Linkage analysis supported allelism for TEC and DBA at the RPS19 gene locus and implies molecular mechanisms other than structural mutations in the RPS19 gene.