Oregon is taking part in a nationwide study testing whether DNA analysis can expand the conditions detected through routine newborn screening, the Oregon Health Authority announced Oct. 12, 2026. The BRIDGES-NBS study adds genetic testing to the blood-spot screening already given to newborns. While Oregon’s standard program screens for 46 conditions, the research test can look for more than 700 genetic conditions, according to Patrice Held, manager of the state’s Newborn Blood Spot Screening Program. The study will examine how the expanded testing could work if incorporated into routine screening, as well as how families and health providers would manage care after a diagnosis. Some conditions can be treated during a child’s first year, Held said, and earlier detection could help connect babies to treatment sooner. Oregon’s newborn blood-spot screening program has operated since 1963. Held said the number of conditions it screens for has grown over time, but advances in genetic technology and treatment are moving faster than the standard program can expand. Any baby born in Oregon can join the additional screening at no cost. Families can enroll through PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center RiverBend, Oregon Health & Science University, or independently. Participation does not replace or change the existing newborn screening.