Children will be able to have their DNA checked at birth under ambitious plans by the NHS that could save thousands of lives, the health secretary announced yesterday.
The health service will ask parents if they want their babies tested to identify any inherited diseases and whether they will have a high risk of illness in later life, Matt Hancock said.
The DNA tests will allow early treatment to make life-threatening ailments including cystic fibrosis and severe epilepsy less debilitating. It could also reveal those at increased risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s and heart disease throughout their lifetime. The results will be placed on children’s medical records.
About 3,000 of the 660,000 babies born a year in England and Wales are thought to have a treatable,