Avoiding Unsatisfactory Newborn Screening Specimens
All Newborn Screening (NBS) specimens will be examined for quality upon receipt at the MDHHS NBS Lab. Unsatisfactory specimens will require that a repeat specimen is collected. Notification of the need for a repeat specimen will be faxed to the submitter and the primary care provider listed on the NBS card.
Unsatisfactory specimens result in:
- Critical time delays in identifying disorders
- Additional work for hospital and NBS staff
- Unnecessary burden on parents who must bring their baby back for a repeat screen
- Infant distress caused by the need for a repeat specimen collection
- Increased cost to the hospital for repeat lab charges
Tips to Avoid Unsatisfactory NBS Specimens:
- Quick blood spot check - Quick visual reference of satisfactory and unsatisfactory specimens
- Cannot identify sample
- Clotted sample
- Contaminated sample
- Wet sample
- Damaged sample
- Expired card
- Layered sample
- Old sample or infant too old to test
- Quantity not sufficient or insufficient sample
- Serum separation (serum rings) sample
- Super saturated sample