Newborn Screening for Metabolic and Sickle Cell Disorders Program

Screening: When to Collect

State Rules & Regulations require that a newborn screening specimen be collected prior to discharge from the hospital, regardless of the child's age and regardless of feeding. In addition, the hospital administrator or a designated representative must provide written notice to the parents, guardian or legally responsible person if the infant must be tested again prior to one week of age. Discharging a newborn without collecting a specimen, even with the intent to collect it later, greatly increases the risk of missing an infant affected with one of the screened disorders.

Additionally:

• The testing must be done in the first week of life in order to start immediate treatment and prevent the effects of the disorder.
• If it is discovered that a screening test has not been done, a specimen should be immediately collected. . While some disorders may have begun to be expressed and some damage may have already occurred, treatment started at any time will always be beneficial to the infant. Additionally, the family should be made aware of the infant's metabolic disorder and its genetic implications, if applicable, and given appropriate counseling.
• There are no special exceptions to collecting a specimen for breast-fed babies. Breast milk and colostrum are considered an adequate protein challenge.
• There are no special exceptions to collecting a specimen for babies on antibiotics.
• If the child has moved to this state from another state, it may be necessary to retest the child since not all states screen for the same disorders. Refer to http://genes-r-us.uthscsa.edu/resources/consumer/statemap.htm for other state programs. If the child is less than 6 months old and the results of the screening test from the other state cannot be obtained, or if there are clinical concerns about the possibility of a disorder, a Georgia screening test should be done.

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