Today, 1/21/10 the Advisory Committee on Heritable Diseases in Newborns and Children voted to recommend that Universal Newborn Screening for SCID be recommended to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. She has 180 days to approve or disapprove.  If approved then the lobbying will begin to get every state to include this screening test.

The Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (ACHDNC) was chartered in February 2003 to advise the Secretary regarding the most appropriate application of universal newborn screening tests, technologies, policies, guidelines and standards for effectively reducing morbidity and mortality in newborns and children having, or at risk for, heritable disorders.

SCID is the first disease to recommended by the committee!