Science Gold Mine, Ethical Minefield

摘要

From minneapolis to paris to auckland,rnnearly every new baby experiences the same procedure hours after birth: a prick of the heel to draw a few drops of blood, which are applied onto filter paper. The paper is shipped off and tested for rare metabolic diseases, which can be devastating if they're not treated early.rnMost parents have only the faintest idea that this testing occurs; they are even less likely to know that health agencies are storing their child's blood for years, in some cases indefinitely, in dusty file boxes or deep-frozen in giant warehouses.