Yesterday, the state held a hearing investigating the process of storing newborn blood samples. It doesn't sound like things are set in stone yet, but if lawmakers have their way, and in this case, I hope they do, parents may be able to opt-in to have their children's samples stored, rather than the current practice of opting-out. Also, parents may also become the owners of the blood samples after the initial screening is complete.
Interestingly, we requested that Babycake's cards with his actual blood samples be returned to us, and we were told, by the director of the Newborn Screening Lab, that our request could not be met because it could pose a possible health hazard.
Again, I'll remind my readers that I am not opposed to newborn screening at all, but I am horribly angered by the way in which Texas has deceived parents by failing to notify us about the true goings-on in the state lab.
The Austin American-Statesman is running an article with more details about the hearing. Stay tuned!
