Heel prick test: $10 is all it would take to change a life

A simple $10 test could stop newborns risking a lifetime of hardship and enforced isolation and even offer hope for a cure, but the Queensland Government is refusing to introduce it. FULL DETAILS

Oakley Gough was born with a rare genetic disease.

The simple action of taking a few droplets of blood from a baby’s heel in the first 48 hours after birth is changing lives around the world, and even in some spots in Australia.

The blood can be analysed in hospital pathology departments and within days, even hours, rare diseases can be identified and immediate medical intervention can begin. Early treatments can be the difference between a cure and the child suffering multiple health complications and even passing away.

But geography is playing a sinister role in which newborns are being tested.

The Courier-Mail has previously highlighted the case of two little girls called Oakley, who were both born with the same devastating motor neurone disease, spinal muscular atrophy.

Oakley Gough is a Queenslander and Oakley Atkins was born in NSW.

The NSW child had the heel prick test and was thriving, while her Queensland counterpart was not tested and ultimately suffered from breathing problems and her tiny muscles were wasting away.

An early diagnosis meant that the child could be treated with a drug called Sprinraza.

Now The Courier-Mail is highlighting the case of children with severe combined immune deficiency, a life-threatening condition where babies are born without a functional immune system.

A heel prick test and early intervention with a stem cell transplant could help prevent these children from suffering devastating health problems and even offer the hope of a cure.

Screening is routinely performed in New Zealand, the US and in some European countries, but is not yet routinely available in Australia. It is only being trialled in NSW.

The Australian Medical Association Queensland has estimated the heel prick test costs $10.

Parents report that the children who do not have the test cost the health system millions and families unnecessary heartache.