There are children who have lost their lives. I would have gladly gone to a hospital that offers it. The standard tests Right now, the heel of every baby born in Pennsylvania is pricked for the few drops of blood needed to test for four conditions. Phenylketonuria, or PKU, is caused by the inability to process the amino acid phenylalinine, which is commonly found in protein-rich food, such as meat. Left untreated, it causes irreversible brain damage.
Congenital hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland is underactive from birth.
When not treated early with thyroid hormone replacement, it can cause growth failure, brain damage and deafness. Sickle cell disease is characterized by abnormal red blood cells and can kill a baby within a few weeks from anemia and infection if not recognized and treated. Maple syrup urine disease, so named because of the distinctive sweet odor it gives to patients' urine and sweat, is a disorder in which several amino acids cannot be metabolized correctly. It can cause lethargy, convulsions and death in newborns. The company that holds the state contract to conduct these mandatory tests for all Pennsylvania hospitals is Neo Gen Screening Inc., which is based in Pittsburgh.