'Very creepy': Newborn blood kept in New Jersey database for decades — some samples turned over to police, lawsuit claims

A federal class-action lawsuit was recently filed against New Jersey after parents discovered the state has been keeping samples of newborn blood in its database for decades without parental knowledge or consent, Wired reported.

Hannah Lovaglio and Erica Jedynak joined the lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice against the New Jersey Department of Health and its Division of Family Health Services after discovering the blood samples collected from their newborn babies during heel prick tests were being stored and used for purposes not previously disclosed to them.

The routine test is mandatory in the United States and checks for a minimum of 35 potentially fatal or disabling genetic disorders, including cystic fibrosis, hormonal deficiencies, and immunodeficiencies. In New Jersey, every newborn child is tested for 61 disorders within 48 hours of birth.

"I assumed that this was for my child's best interest and for the best interest of public health," Lovaglio stated.

The mother noted that she did not realize that the state holds onto the blood samples after the testing is completed and stores them in a database for decades. According to state law, the samples can be used for purposes other than medical testing. In some cases, the newborn blood samples have been turned over to police to investigate suspected criminals.

Jedynak called it "a very creepy practice." She told Fox News Digital, "My son's blood has his genetic information. It is unique to him and I actually consider that bodily property."

The lawsuit claims that parents are not informed about the state's storage practices, including how long the samples are kept and how their child's blood could be used.

"The New Jersey Department of Health has unilaterally determined that it can keep and store the unused blood from every baby born in New Jersey," the complaint states.

New Jersey law does not require that the samples be destroyed, but it also does not indicate how long the state may hold onto them. The state's records retention schedule revealed that the samples are being stored for 23 years, Wired reported.

The lawsuit alleged that the state's practices violate the children's Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Brian Morris with the Institute for Justice stated, "New Jersey has kind of on their own decided 'we're going to keep this [blood], and we can do whatever we want with it, and we're not going to tell anybody.'"

"New Jersey, while it's one of the worst of the worst states, is not the only state that's doing this," Morris continued. "We're hoping that this federal lawsuit can establish precedent that then we can use elsewhere."

Texas was forced to destroy 5.3 million newborn blood samples in 2009 following a lawsuit against its storage practices. The state was accused of turning over the samples to the Pentagon to build a DNA database. Following the lawsuit, Texas must obtain consent from parents to store children's blood samples for longer than two years.

In 2014, Minnesota reached a settlement agreement to destroy 1.1 million samples after nearly two dozen families took legal action against the health department. Michigan agreed to destroy 3 million samples last year. Both states allowed researchers to use the blood samples without parental consent.

A New Jersey Department of Health spokesperson told Wired that the agency cannot comment on pending litigation.

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