South Carolina among worst in nation on newborn tests

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, South Carolina “ranks among the worst in the nation as to how quickly hospitals send babies' blood samples to state labs for testing of rare but deadly genetic disorders.”

“Federally backed guidelines recommend blood samples take no more than three days to arrive at labs for testing, as children with these genetic disorders can die or become extremely ill just a few days after birth. Last year, only a quarter of newborn screening samples in South Carolina arrived at the lab within three days of collection.”

The story is part of the paper’s “Deadly Delays” series, which investigated processing failures in newborn screening programs.

Ellen Gabler, an investigative reporter and assistant editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, wrote about the project for our Transparency Watch blog. To go behind the story, check out the Google+ Hangout IRE hosted on the series.