KEY POINTS:
The Privacy Commissioner says two million DNA samples, taken from a heel-prick test of babies born since 1969, should be destroyed or transferred to a secure authority.
The DNA samples are taken to check and screen for childhood diseases.
About 60,000 babies are screened for 28 disorders each year, with about 45 infants affected.
They are stored indefinitely as part of the National Screening Unit's newborn metabolic screening programme.
In a submission to the Health Ministry, Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff, said the DNA samples presented risks to the programme's participants and the programme itself, reported The Dominion Post.
Ms Shroff said the "dizzying" pace of technology meant the samples could be used in genetic screening for employment or criminal purposes.
DNA samples were a "rich store of information, not only about the subject, but also about his or her relatives".
Ms Shroff has suggested destroying the data or keeping the data in control of a separate agency, governed by strict legislation
The Health Ministry was reviewing the programme's policy options.
- NZPA
