Newborn dried blood spot screening: residual specimen storage issues.

Traditional newborn dried blood spot screening (NDBS) has expanded in recent years to include upwards of 50 different conditions in many states. Once the screening tests are complete, the residual blood specimens (RBSs) that remain are most often available for quality assurance and public health research. The articles by Botkin et al1 and Bombard et al2 contained in this issue of Pediatrics investigate the attitudes of parents in both the United States (n5 3855) and Canada (n5 66) toward program policies that allow for the possible storage and secondary use of RBSs.