Question

1. As a future medical technologist, are you allowed to perform newborn screening to a patient? If no, who else can perform it? If yes, which legal document authorizes you to perform the test?

2. Will you consider having your future child undergo newborn screening? If no, why not? If yes, which would you prefer, the basic or the expanded?

Answer 1

1 ) Yes , As a medical technologist I'll allowed to perform newborn screening. It is necessary to detect newborn congenital anomalies.  

LEGAL DOCUMENT

* Parental Consent : consent authorizes to perform newborn screening. Types of consent forms used in newborn screening as follows:

• Parental Consent for Research use of Newborn Screening blood spots & Test results form.
• Directive to destroy newborn blood spots & Test results form.

Individual request for newborn screening test results authorization to release Health care information form.

2 ) Yes , I will consider my future child undergo newborn screening. I would prefer expanded newborn screening. Because expanded screening helps to identify metabolic & congenital disorders earlier. Newborn's  heel prick blood is taken for analysis. Phenylketonuria is the major metabolic disease which we can detect earlier by expanded screening. It helps to further growth and development of the baby . Phenylalanine rich foods can be avoided if we detect PKU earlier.  

Other common newborn screening disorders: Cystic fibrosis, Hearing loss, congenital hypothyroidism, sickle cell disease,congenital adrenal hyperplasia etc.