The Texas health department has been banking leftover samples of DNA without informing parents. The state has been doing this since 2002 and, after a lawsuit, Texas has passed a new law that is designed to protect the identities of the babies whose blood was collected. It also specifically states that parents can’t find out what their child’s blood is being used for.

You can download a Directive to Destroy form here [pdf] to request that your child’s sample be destroyed. Once the state receives the form, they have 60 days to destroy the blood cards.