In order to settle a lawsuit, the State of Texas has been ordered to destroy millions of infant blood samples taken without parental consent, states a report in Modern Healthcare. Texas began collecting infants' dried blood spot samples in the 1960s to screen for health disorders, but the suit against the Texas Department of State Health Services was sparked when the samples were transferred to the Texas A&M Health Science Center--representing a change in purpose from the original law and done without parental consent. As a result, the state passed a new law giving parents the option to have the sample destroyed, and all samples collected before that date must be destroyed. (Registration may be required to access story.)
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