Spain's healthcare system to start screening newborns for ten more diseases with heel prick test
All regions will include pre-eclampsia screening for pregnant women and the age limit for IVF due to ovarian failure will be removed
Spain's Ministry of Health will shortly approve an order expanding the common portfolio of services offered by the national healthcare system (SNS) - those that must be provided free of charge in public healthcare across all regions. The order received the backing of the body that brings together the central and regional ministries. It extends prenatal, neonatal and cancer screening and facilitates access to assisted reproduction, among other changes.
One of the main novelties is that it extends the number of diseases for which newborns will be screened to 21. Ten more pathologies will be added to the heel prick test, which consists of a blood sample taken from the baby to determine whether they suffer from a serious metabolic or genetic pathology, the early detection of which allows early treatment.
The newly added pathologies include propionic acidemia, primary carnitine deficiency, very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, methylmalonic acidemias, isovaleric acidemia, severe combined immunodeficiency, spinal muscular atrophy, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric aciduria and X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy.
The order also adds pre-eclampsia screening for pregnant women. It is estimated that around 10% of pregnant women suffer from pre-eclampsia, which involves a marked and sustained increase in blood pressure and can lead to liver and kidney damage and put the life of the foetus and the mother at risk. The condition, which can appear from the 20th week of pregnancy, needs to be diagnosed early.
The third added screening is the early detection of colon and rectal cancer, which is carried out by looking for blood in the stool and, if necessary, with a colonoscopy. The age range for the test, which is performed every two years, will be extended nationwide from the current 50-69 years to 74 years.
The fourth main improvement in the portfolio is the removal of the age limit for access to IVF in cases of premature clinical ovarian failure. At present, the age limit for the public healthcare system to cover the cost of this procedure was, depending on the region, between 40 and 45 years of age.
