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At Every Turn > In The Community > Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "His life was saved because Wisconsin required testing babies for 'bubble boy disease.'"
News Feb 10, 2020

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "His life was saved because Wisconsin required testing babies for 'bubble boy disease.'"

On January 7, 1986, 15-year-old Jeffrey Modell passed away from severe combined immunodeficiency (often known as SCID or “bubble boy disease”), a rare genetic condition in which a person’s immune system is severely impaired. If detected early enough, however, it can be cured with a bone marrow transplant. Thankfully, today, every newborn in America is tested for this disease. But that wasn’t always the case. For nearly a decade, the Modell family fought and failed to have a test for SCID added to the standard newborn screening. Then they met Dr. John Routes, a pediatric allergist and immunologist at Children’s Wisconsin, and everything changed.

Read more in this article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

 

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Children's Wisconsin knows kids need healthy families and strong communities to live well. That’s why we develop services and community partnerships designed to support children and families where they live, learn, work and play.  View more articles from Children's Wisconsin Media Relations

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