Since 1987, our core mission has been earliest possible diagnosis to save as many lives as we can. Without diagnosis, life expectancy for SCID patients is only one year, so implementing newborn screening for SCID globally continues to be one of our top priorities.
We lobbied to add SCID to the national core panel for years, and in 2010, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services announced a formal recommendation. It was the first addition in twelve years! But we didn’t stop there: in 2018, Newborn Screening for SCID was officially implemented in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Navajo Nation.
Nearly 4 million newborns are screened annually in the U.S. alone—imagine what that number could be on a global scale if every country was participating in a screening program?
Newborn screening saves lives—it’s that simple! See if your country participates in newborn screening for SCID here. Don’t see your country listed? The best way to Do Something is to use your voice to encourage action. Send a note to your representatives using our template letter or share with your community on social media.