But, most parents don’t know the blood leftover on the card is kept by the state in a temperature-controlled room for 23 years. Families have no say in how their baby’s blood is used, including whether it’s sold for research or given to law enforcement.over New Jersey’s little-known “baby blood stockpile” last fall and were in talks with state officials to reach a settlement. But, those talks stalled and the case may now be headed to court, the group said.
Parents would also be told the exact reasons for the retention and what the state is “expressly prohibited” from using the blood sample for, including providing it to the police without a warrant, he said. New Jersey has required every baby born in the state to be tested for different disorders since the 1970s. The newborns’ blood is collected on a paper card, creating“The state hasn’t had to justify or make known why they do this,” the Rev. Hannah Lovaglio, of Cranbury, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, told NJ Advance Media last year.
The only way parents learn the blood sample has been retained is by looking it up on a third-party website listed on the bottom of the card they receive after the sample is taken, it said.