McGreehan welcomes further addition to national newborn Bloodspot Screening (nBS) Programme

SeNATOR erin McGreehan welcomes approval of a recommendation from the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) to add a group of conditions known as Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) to the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening (NBS) Programme.

When implemented, this will bring to 10 the number of condi- tions screened as part of what is commonly known as the ‘heel prick’ test in Ireland.

Senator McGreehan said, “I’m delighted to see this further expansion of the newborn screening. I’ve been campaigning on this in Seanad and it’s good to see Government action on the matter. This brings the number of conditions we screen newborns for to 10 and is a further improvement on our neonatal care.”

The NSAC considered a comprehensive health Technology Assessment (hTA) report from hIQA on the evidence for the addition of SCID to the NBS programme at its meeting in December 2022, and made its recommendation based on the evidence and advice in the hTA.

SCID is a group of rare but serious inherited conditions which are almost uniformly fatal in the first year of life without appropriate treatment. National and international evidence consistently suggests that earlier identification and earlier treatment for SCID results in better clinical outcomes for the child.

The estimated prevalence of diagnosed SCID in Ireland is relatively high at 1 in 39,760 births, with

27 patients diagnosed from 2005 to 2020.

The ongoing expansion of the NBS programme is a priority for the Minister and the NSAC, and several other rare newborn conditions are undergoing consideration.

At its December 2022 meeting, the NSAC decided to ask hIQA to carry out a hTA for the addition of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). It is expected that hIQA will commence this work early in 2023.