A new state law in California expands newborn screening for three additional groups of disorders through a HRSA-supported pilot program.  The program relies on new technology capable of screening for dozens of potential health problems.

Screening detects disorders in newborns that, left untreated, can cause death, disability, mental retardation and other serious illnesses.  The new technology -- called tandem mass spectrometry -- will expand testing to screen for up to 30 fatty acid, amino acid and organic acid disorders.  These disorders involve, for example, newborns’ inability to convert fat to blood sugar and the production of toxic substances when they digest proteins.

Previously, California only screened for four genetic and metabolic disorders controllable by diet management, those affecting growth and development, and blood disorders that involve the improper makeup of hemoglobin, the respiratory pigment in red blood cells containing iron.

HRSA and California’s public health department jointly fund the Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS/MS) Evaluation Project.  It teaches parents about enhanced testing and allows them to enroll their babies in supplemental screenings at no extra cost.  MS/MS analysis is based on the blood-spot test already taken routinely at birth.  The pilot program will continue for a year to a year and a half, with local health care providers and hospitals participating.

HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau supports newborn screening activities in California and nationwide. For more information on newborn screening and HRSA’s Genetics Services Branch, visit http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/html/genetics.html.

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