Hundreds of women have stepped up to help a Birmingham hospital detect rare genetic diseases.

More than 1,200 mothers have donated blood from their baby’s umbilical cords to Birmingham Women’s Hospital as part of the national Generation Study.

The study is being run by Genomics England with NHS trusts across the UK and plans to test 100,000 newborn babies.

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It aims to identify treatable rare conditions in babies earlier to allow for discovery research into new diagnostic testing and treatments and is done through whole genome sequencing on cord blood samples collected after birth.

To date, more than 10,000 results have been returned to families nationally, with 43 suspected condition results

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