New state-of-art lab to provide newborn screening

Ottawa, ON – A new screening lab at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) will screen every baby born in Ontario for several rare genetic disorders.

The province’s government is providing $7 million annually to expand the number of disorders newborns are screened for in Ontario. This money will also support the lab and help buy new, high-tech screening equipment.

Currently, the lab at CHEO receives blood samples from all Ontario newborns and screens them for three rare genetic diseases. By the end of the year, the lab will screen for 27 disorders. Ontario will now be the only province in Canada to screen infants for blood disorders like sickle cell disease.