Health Authority receives newborn screening data from 2009

The Health Authority has received data from heel-prick blood samples taken from babies born in the Faroe Islands since 2009, Kringvarp Føroya reported on Monday. The data was provided by Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut at the request of Faroese authorities.

The records, known as PKU data, include screening results. Since 2024, the blood samples themselves have been returned to the Faroe Islands after testing in Denmark, and the results are now being returned as well.

All newborns are offered screening for 25 congenital diseases. A blood sample is taken from the baby’s heel shortly after birth, placed on a PKU card and sent to Statens Serum Institut for analysis.

The blood samples and data are available for testing for up to 12 months. After that, the material is sent to the Health Authority. Copies of the screening results will remain available from Statens Serum Institut.

All newborns in the Faroe Islands have been offered the screening since 1986. The data now transferred to the Health Authority covers only children born in the Faroe Islands in 2009 or later. Statens Serum Institut retains data from before 2009.