Robert guthrie newborn screening in the philippines

Life Happens, Science Follows

Over the years, newborn screening became known as one of the most important, successful interventions of public health, credited with sparing tens of thousands of children worldwide from developmental disabilities or early death.

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But it may never have happened if:

• Robert and Margaret Guthrie’s son, John Guthrie, had not been born mentally retarded.

• Robert Guthrie’s father had not sold sewing machines door to door during the Depression.

• Robert and Margaret Guthrie had not decided to raise their growing family near Buffalo, New York.

• Margaret Guthrie’s niece, Margaret Doll, had not been diagnosed with PKU at 13 months of age.

Five drops of blood

The Guthrie Test was initially developed in to screen for a single disorder, phe