Published: December 26, 2009 12:02 pm      

New DSHS rules enhance parental privacy

Parents of newborns now have the right to refuse to allow a state agency to store bloodspots from the state’s newborn screening program

In the past, the Texas Department of State Health Services routinely kept newborn blood samples to use for quality control purposes.

The practice was recently the subject of a lawsuit initiated by a group of Texas parents who claimed the state violated their rights when it used their children’s blood samples for purposes other than medical screening.

The lawsuit — which was settled this week — calls for DSHS to destroy all bloodspot cards obtained by the department before May 27, 2009.

In a statement issued following the settlement, DSHS officials said they believe “settling this lawsuit is in the best interest of this program’s core mission to screen all newborn babies in Texas for life-threatening disorders. Newborn screening saves children’s lives, and settling this lawsuit allows us to continue operating this critical program.”

The agency went on to say it is complying with all the requirements of the legislation, including the provision which allows parents to have bloodspots from their infants destroyed rather than stored.

“We will continue to be very sensitive to the privacy concerns of parents and the confidentiality of all medical information,” a DSHS spokesman said.

If parents don’t object, the department saves the samples for uses allowed under the new legislation — primarily quality assurance and control purposes to ensure accuracy in lab testing.

The agency also stated the samples could provide “an invaluable resource in researching new or more effective ways to prevent, diagnose and treat serious medical conditions that affect Texas children, including leukemia and birth defects.”

DSHS screens approximately 800,000 newborn specimens each year.