Saturday, October 4, 2014

To screen or not to screen ...

TAG of the Week:

Blog #2 due on Friday Oct 24 at 5pm (EST)

Read or listen to the article from NPR: 



Brianne and Matthew Wojtesta's neurologist explained she has had times in the past that she's had to explain to a parent that their child may develop some form of this disease at some point. She states "I can't tell you when, I can't tell you what it's going to look like. I can't tell you if there's any way to prevent it. And I can't tell you that we will be able to treat it if it develops." You can imagine how difficult that may be for a family to hear. 

Consider the perspective of both the research community and a newborns family regarding this test. Who are the stakeholders and what are the ethical implications present here? What are some important things to take into account when deciding if this should be a screening test mandated to all newborns? Remember, getting this test early enough may help alleviate symptoms and has been proven to save a child's life. 

After reading the article, are you in support of Krabbe screening? Explain why or why not.