5. Strongly disagree
Please give your reasons for your answer:
Q2c. Do you have other comments about the use of blood spot cards for individuals and
their families?
2.3 Blood spot cards are used to monitor health in the general population
Blood spot cards can be used as part of public health monitoring, to answer questions about
the health of the general population, to inform health service planning and to monitor how
well public health policies prevent or manage disease. The blood spots are particularly
valuable because it is possible to find out information about mothers health from their babies
blood spots.
Care is always taken to keep personal information private when blood spot cards are used in
this way. Identifying information is removed from the blood spots so they are anonymised.
For example, 15 years ago we were unsure how widespread HIV infection was in the UK
and whether it was becoming more common. By testing the stored blood spots of newborn
babies anonymously so it was impossible to identify individuals and their results, it was
shown that the number of HIV-infected pregnant women was steadily increasing. This
information led directly to the introduction of a national policy to recommend voluntary HIV
testing to all pregnant women in 1999. Advances in methods to prevent a mother
transmitting HIV infection to her child has reduced the risk of a baby being infected from 1 in
5 to less than 1 in 50, and now almost 90% of pregnant women accept voluntary testing for
HIV. At the same time anonymous HIV testing of stored blood spots is continuing so that the
effectiveness of the voluntary screening programme can be monitored.
The value of stored blood spot cards for monitoring health in the general population is
increased enormously if blood spot cards can be stored beyond the initial 5 years required
by the screening programme.
Q3a. Please consider the following statement and tick one of the 5 options below:
It is appropriate that blood spot cards can be used to monitor health in the general
population.
1. Strongly agree
2. Agree
3. Neither agree nor disagree
4. Disagree
5. Strongly disagree
Please give your reasons for your answer:
Q3b. Do you have comments about the storage of blood spot cards, beyond the 5 years
required by the screening programme, for monitoring health in the general population?