States of Maine and Rhode Island add SCID to newborn screening panels

The Immune Deficiency Foundation (IDF) commends the states of Maine and Rhode Island for adding Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID) to their states' newborn screening panels, effective August 1, 2014. These states join 21 other states currently screening newborns for SCID, ensuring over two thirds of all babies in the U.S. are now being screened. SCID is a type of primary immunodeficiency disease where affected infants lack the T-cells and antibody immunity that help fight infections from a wide array of viruses, bacteria and fungi, leaving these infants susceptible to serious, life-threatening infections.

A recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine examined transplant outcomes for SCID from 2000-2009, and the results serve as strong support for IDF's tireless campaign for universal newborn screening for SCID. Researchers found that infants who received the transplants at the age of 3½ months or younger had a 94% five-year survival rate. These findings underscore the need for swift screening in newborns and intervention—usually by bone marrow transplant—in the first few months of life. Without treatment, SCID is universally fatal.

IDF continues to work diligently for universal newborn screening for SCID. "We are pleased to know that babies in Maine and Rhode Island will be screened for SCID," said Marcia Boyle, IDF President & Founder. "We must continue to work to ensure that newborn screening for SCID is established in all 50 states so that all babies, no matter where they are born, have the chance at a healthy life."