Recently there has been much discussion about the possibility of using
dried blood spots on Guthrie cards as a source of DNA for research or
testing purposes. The collections of Guthrie cards stored by state ne
wborn-screening laboratories can thus be viewed as inchoate ''DNA bank
s.'' This has generated concern among some persons who are interested
in preserving the privacy of medical records. This study examines the
policies of state newborn-screening laboratories in the United States,
regarding their retention of Guthrie cards and the degree to which th
ey permit the sharing of those cards with various third parties. We fo
und that although most laboratories retain their cards, if at all, for
only a short time, a growing number plan to keep them for an extended
period-and, in several cases, indefinitely. We also found that althou
gh most laboratories would decline to release individually identifiabl
e blood spots from the cards to third parties without a written releas
e or other explicit authorization, a large number would at least consi
der sharing anonymous cards for research purposes.