How A Quick Blood Test Could Save Your Newborn’s Life
Washington’s Newborn Screening program helps diagnose conditions at birth so babies can get early treatment
Newborn babies get 2 blood spot screenings early in life. The first screening happens in the first 48 hours after birth, and the second screening happens 2 weeks after birth.
Newborn screening is important because it can help doctors find and treat congenital health conditions early enough to prevent serious complications. Congenital means a baby has the condition from birth.
Since 1963, the Newborn Screening (NBS) program has performed millions of tests to find rare congenital conditions in babies.
Susan Mays shares in a video that this screening program revealed maple syrup urine disease in her daughter, Indie. The second blood spot, done when Indie was 2 weeks old, led to a diagnosis of this life-threatening but treatable condition. Indie’s doctor used this information to begin treating Indie right away.
Lisa Green also shares the story of her children and their diagnosis of cystic fibrosis. Lisa gave birth to her children before the screening panel added cystic fibrosis, but she wholeheartedly recommends the program.
“It’s an incredible program. It’s a gift. It could save your baby’s life,” she says.
How Newborn Screening works
Newborn screening is safe and routine.
This procedure involves a quick blood test. A health care provider will use a newborn screening card made of special filter paper to take a few drops of blood from your newborn’s heel. After the blood dries on the card, they’ll send the sample to Washington State Public Health Laboratories for testing.
You can have this test done wherever you give birth: a hospital, birth center, or at home with a midwife. You can have this test done at a clinic or laboratory.
What disorders does DOH screen for?
You can find the full list of treatable disorders DOH screens for on the Newborn Screening page.
“I’m proud of the work our program has done to expand from a handful of conditions screened in the early 2000s to our current panel of 32 conditions,” says John Thompson, DOH Newborn Screening director.
Here are some of the treatable disorders included in the screening panel:
- Biotinidase deficiency
- Cystic fibrosis
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
- Maple syrup urine disease
- Spinal muscular atrophy
Doctors can’t always identify these conditions at birth. Without screening, these conditions may go undetected.
Screening and follow-up services make it possible for babies to get early diagnosis and treatment before the conditions lead to disability or death.
What type of work happens at the Newborn Screening Laboratory?
DOH’s Washington State Newborn Screening Laboratory handles newborn screening testing for the entire state.
The Newborn Screening team receives thousands of specimens a week at the lab. Each year, the lab performs 12 million tests on more than 172,000 specimens from about 85,000 newborns. From this work, the team identifies about 200 infants with disorders every year and connects them to treatment early in life.
Some disorders can be life-threatening within a baby’s first week. This makes it essential for the lab team to work quickly and efficiently and provide results as quickly as possible.
Specimens can’t be tested after a certain timeframe. So, the laboratory is open every day, except Sundays and Thanksgiving, to make sure the team gets specimens within 72 hours of collection.
“Whether it’s an urgent matter or covering for someone who is out of office, our team is willing to do what needs to be done,” explains Leann Christensen, NBS Operations Program Manager.
Why is newborn screening important?
The NBS program detects inherited conditions in newborn babies. If left untreated, these problems can lead to slower growth, blindness, brain damage, and possibly death.
A newborn baby can appear healthy and still have one of the conditions mentioned above. Finding these problems early and treating them quickly prevents many serious complications.
Christensen emphasizes the importance of newborn screening for all babies. “I want people to know it’s an easy way to detect life-threatening conditions early. A small blood sample can give the family a life-changing opportunity to address medical issues before harm is caused.”
