District Of Columbia § 7-833 - Neonatal testing for metabolic disorders.

Each hospital and maternity center in the District of Columbia shall make available to every newborn delivered or cared for at that hospital or maternity center blood tests to screen for galactosemia, homocystinuria, hypothyroidism, maple syrup urine disease, PKU, and sickle hemoglobinopathy. Each hospital and maternity center shall inform the parent(s) of the availability of these tests and shall, unless parental consent is withheld under or an identical test has already been performed, take appropriate blood samples for analysis by a laboratory designated pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. The Mayor may, upon the advice of the Committee on Metabolic Disorders, issue rules pursuant to , requiring that hospitals and maternity centers make screening tests available for additional metabolic disorders.

Each test shall be forwarded to a laboratory designated by the Mayor. A designated laboratory must be one which is currently certified by the College of American Pathologists and regularly participates in the appropriate quality control program for such testing by the College or is currently certified by the United States Center for Disease Control and regularly participates in the appropriate quality control program for such testing by the Center or has a federal license under the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Act of 1967 (42 U.S.C. § 263a), which permits the laboratory to solicit and accept in interstate commerce human specimens for the purpose of performing clinical laboratory examinations, for the purpose of detecting metabolic disorders.

All test results shall be forwarded to the hospital or maternity center where the blood sample was taken. In addition, all positive test results shall be forwarded to the parent(s) and a physician designated by the District of Columbia government. This physician shall assist the parent(s) and the mother’s physician (if she has one) in securing follow-up testing and treatment when appropriate.