Positive developments for SMA newborn screening in Spain and Denmark
On September 15, 2022, the regional government of Galicia, Spain announced they would add three new diseases to the regional screening programme, including SMA, and begin screening for SMA by the end of 2022. Galicia has one of the most comprehensive newborn screening programmes in Spain. There are currently three ongoing pilots for SMA newborn screening in Spain: Valencia & Sevilla, Malaga, and Madrid. Read the original Spanish article here.
Meanwhile, on September 14, 2022, the Southern Denmark health region, which is one of five regions, decided to start screening for SMA for all the babies born in the region. The screening will start this autumn. This can be considered to be a game changer for the entire country as the Danish Ministry of Health can hardly accept babies born in different parts of Denmark to be treated differently, and it is expected that the Ministry will take a new look at the question of SMA newborn screening soon. Read the original Danish article here.