Texas’ health department will destroy millions of controversial blood samples as part of a lawsuit settlement approved Dec. 21, 2009.

Its defendants, who include the Department of State Health Services’ David Lakey and Texas A&M Health Science Center’s Nancy Dickey, are due to surrender more than 5.3 million samples. Extracted from babies without parental consent, the samples collectively have until April 13, 2010 to be destroyed.

Texas Civil Rights Project Director Jim Harrington was “very pleased with the way it worked out.” His Austin-based nonprofit organization led parents in filing the suit in San Antonio’s federal district court.

Dickey’s office, meanwhile, was “saddened” over the loss of such a “superb database.” The samples have been stores as blood spot cards in the Texas A&M Health Science Center for the past seven years.

“This database could have continued to shed light on causes of congenital birth defects and potentially led to preventive measures saving thousands of infants and their families the distress these defects cause,” her office said in a statement.

According to defendants, the samples were identified using codes, not the babies’ names. However, the state legislature passed a law on May 27 ordering health care providers to inform caregivers and parents of any blood extractions from newborns. The law gave impetus to parental protests.

Since the signing of the law, nearly 6,900 Texans have affixed their signatures on requests to destroy the blood spot cards. The Department of State Health Services continues to get hundreds of them each week.

Under the terms of the settlement, the department must destroy samples 60 days from receipt of the request. Otherwise, the owner of the sample could request it when he or she comes of age.

In addition, the department is bound by law to reveal relevant data regarding the blood samples on its website. They must include info on any research projects the samples benefited.

More than 240,000 children have been born in Texas since the department started extracting the samples in 2002.