Four million newborns in the United States are routinely screened annually for a variety of conditions.
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) is a life threatening condition in which infants fail to develop a normal immune system. Undetected and untreated, the baby will die before his or her first birthday. But with newborn screening, they can be diagnosed and cured with a bone marrow transplant.
Three years ago, no states were screening babies for SCID. The Jeffrey Modell Foundation (JMF) contributed over $3 million towards programs for Newborn Screening for SCID.
As explained by Vicki Modell, "We have heard from too many grieving parents whose babies were tragically lost to SCID. But now that we can screen and cure babies that are affected, we cannot stand by for another day, and watch precious babies die. We will fight for these babies and offer funding to every state that implements a Population Screening Program for SCID. This is an historic journey, and we hope to wipe out this fatal disease forever."