On May 14, 2008, the State Board of Health unanimously approved adding 15 new disorders to the newborn screening panel in Washington State. Our staff is busy preparing for this expansion and we anticipate starting the additional screening this summer. No extra blood will be needed, and there will be no fee increase, as all 15 additional conditions can be tested at the same time by instruments used currently in our laboratory.

The conditions being added to the panel are:

• 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric aciduria (HMG)

• argininosuccinic acidemia (ASA)

• beta-ketothiolase deficiency (BKT)

• carnitine uptake deficiency (CUD)

• citrullinemia type 1

• glutaric acidemia type 1 (GA-I)

• holocarboxylase synthetase deficiency (HCSD)

• isovaleric acidemia (IVA)

• long-chain L-3-OH acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (LCHAD) deficiency

• methylmalonic acidemias (MMA) - two forms

• propionic acidemia (PA)

• trifunctional protein (TFP) deficiency

• tyrosinemia type 1

• very-long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) deficiency

Cystic Fibrosis Screening Started March 15, 2006

As a result of a unanimous vote by the Washington State Board of Health, the Newborn Screening rules have been revised to add cystic fibrosis to the mandated screening panel. No additional blood needs to be collected on the newborn screening form, and there will be no change in the screening charge for this new testing.

Additional information about cystic fibrosis is available on our disorders page and its associated links.