The California Newborn Screening program celebrated 50 years of saving the lives of newborn children according to a news release from the California Department of Public Health.

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California Health and Human Services Secretary Diana S. Dooley, California Department of Public Health Director and State Health Officer Ron Chapman, and the Association of Public Health Laboratories were joined by families of newborn screenings to celebrate this occasion.

Since 1980, the NBS has screened approximately 17 million babies.

The NBS has also increased its screening panel from three diseases to over 80 different disorders.

“Every parent wants to ensure that their newborn is perfectly healthy and the NBS program is helping more families do just that,” Dooley said. “The program has been credited with saving lives and preventing disability for thousands of newborns.”

The California NBS program goal is to decrease the emotional and financial of disability and death caused by congenital and genetic disorders.

The NBS protects the health of all its newborns and it’s a critical public health measure.

State law has required that all babies born in California be tested before leaving the hospital since 1966.

The California Newborn Screening Program is one of the largest in the world.

The NBS screens 1-in-8 children born in the United States.

Because of the NBS, more than 13,500 of children born with a serious disorder have been diagnosed, treated and are living happy and productive lives.

For more information please visit www.cdph.ca.gov

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