IHF: Newborn screening cards could have genetic data that saves lives

A mother whose son died four years ago from sudden cardiac death is backing a campaign by the Irish Heart Foundation to halt the destruction of life-saving blood sample cards.

The IHF says the newborn screening card samples, which are due to be destroyed soon, could save the lives of family members of more than 1,000 young victims of sudden cardiac death between 1984 and 2002.

Sally Hegarty, whose son Rory, 16, died in 2009, said he had an inherited genetic condition and his card could hold the key to establishing if her other two children, Sadhbh and Neil, are at risk.