Metascreen, a guard against ‘sudden death’
Nearly one baby every hour
each day dies abruptly. An estimated 7,000 babies die each year without
warning.
Parents are left clueless after the death
as the possible causes remain unknown even after undergoing autopsy. All
because of the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
SIDS is the unexplained death of babies
usually occurring during sleep and striking under unexpected circumstances.
Even a healthy one-year old baby may be a
victim of the condition which is often simply attributed to physical and
environmental factors.
Studies have shown that babies with
physical conditions including brain abnormalities, low birth weight and
respiratory infection have higher risk of dying an unexplained death.
Still some studies indicated that an
infant’s sleeping position may also be a cause. Babies sleeping on their
stomach side are more prone as they may suffer more difficulty in breathing.
Those sleeping on soft surfaces and with their parents are also at risk.
To address the problem, various newborn
screening tests are being employed as a means of identifying inborn disorders.
For instance, dried blood spot screening, usually available in hospitals, can
effectively screen the newborn of many metabolic disorders.
This type of screening, however, can only
detect less than 50 metabolic disorders.
Given that there are far more metabolic
disorders that place an infant in danger of SIDS, a new process called
Metascreen, an expanded, advanced and non-invasive metabolic screening service,
was developed.
Metascreen can detect up to more than 100
inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) through a painless method that uses the
child’s urine sample collected after 48 hours of birth.
IEM is a rare genetic disorder
characterized by the lack of enzymes needed in the body to maintain the normal
body metabolic temperature.
This condition eventually causes the build-up
of toxic substances and a deficiency of the critical ones. And because this may
remain undetected during the infant stages of the baby, it poses as a silent
threat to every newborn.
Aside from causing sudden death, the
disease may also trigger serious developmental issues and lifelong disease, if
left untreated.
Research showed that 10% of the SIDS cases
can significantly be attributed to these inherited metabolic defects.
In the Philippines, this comprehensive
newborn screening is offered by Cordlife Medical Philippines, the country’s
most chosen cord blood and cord lining banking institution. Metascreen is offered free to all mothers who
bank their baby’s cord blood and cord lining at Cordlife.
“Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a serious
and unseen condition that contributes to infant mortality,” said Dr. Arvin
Faundo, Medical Director, Cordlife Medical Philippines. “Metascreen offers mothers the chance to
reduce this incidence to secure the future and the wellbeing of their newborn.”
The screening test is performed by the Hong
Kong Screening Centre Limited, a company that provides early and accurate
detection of metabolic disorders in newborn babies.
“Here in the Philippines, we take pride in
providing our clients with the best facilities to ensure that Cordlife is
something they can depend on especially when it comes to securing the health of
their newborn,” Faundo added.
Cordlife Medical Philippines, is a branch
of Cordlife Group Limited which owns and operates processing and
cryopreservation storage facilities across Asia including in Singapore, Hong
Kong, India and Indonesia.
The Group’s processing and storage
facilities in Singapore, Hong Kong, and India are also AABB, formerly known as
American Association of Blood Banks, accredited, meeting the gold standard of
private cord blood banking.
Cordlife Group also has a direct investment
in China Cord Blood Corporation, one of the top operators in China.
For more information, download Cordlife’s
free infopack @ www.cordlife.ph or call (02) 3321888 to know how you can invest
in your children’s future.
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