Ethics debate over blood from newborn safety tests

February 9, 2010

A critical safety net for babies – that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn – is facing an ethics attack. After those tiny blood spots are tested for a list of devastating diseases, some states are storing them for years. Scientists consider the leftover samples a treasure, both to improve newborn screening and to study bigger questions, like which environmental toxins can harm a fetus’ developing heart or which genes trigger childhood cancers. (AP News)