Louise O'Reilly
Question:416. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health his plans to increase the number of rare disorders for which newborn babies are screened. [17764/19]
View answerTuesday, 16 April 2019
Questions (416)
Written answers
Currently all babies (between 3 and 5 days old) born in Ireland are screened for 8 rare but serious medical conditions as part of the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme. These include:
- cystic fibrosis
- congenital hypothyroidism
- phenylketonuria
- classical galactosaemia
- MCADD (medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency)
- homocystinuria
- maple syrup urine disease
- glutaric aciduria type 1.
As recommended in the Scally Review (2019), a National Screening Committee will be established and become operational before the end of 2019. Similar, to the UK National Screening Committee, their role will be to undertake an independent assessment of the evidence for screening for a particular condition against internationally accepted criteria. Any potential changes to the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme will be incorporated as part of the Committee's work programme.