Important Recommendation from American Academy of Pediatrics for China Adoptive Families‏

Last week I received the below email from our Adoption Agency. We were going to have the girls tested yesterday or today while Sophie Wei went in to recieve her updated immunizations but we have been so busy prepairing for our change at home. We will be getting the girls tested and Sophie Wei's shots some time this week.

I am going back to work tomorrow and Rick will be starting his leave tomorrow.

I feel blessed to have received a couple of emails from friends that we met from our adoption group when we adopted Simone. It is comforting to know others are going through the same thing.

"Dear Families,

In recent months you’ve most likely heard about the infant formula tainted with Melamine in China. According to reports from China, this tainted formula has resulted in some babies developing kidney stones, and in a few extreme cases, experiencing kidney failure. I know we are all saddened by this situation, and by the suffering of Chinese children and their families.

We are writing today to advise you that WACAP recently has heard from three families whose children were diagnosed with kidney stones. Two of these children joined their families as early as 2005. WACAP immediately contacted Dr. Dana Johnson, an adoptive medicine specialist at the University of Minnesota’s International Adoption Medical Clinic, to seek a recommendation for families who’ve adopted from China. Dr Johnson consulted with the section on Adoption and Foster Care of the American Academy of Pediatrics and advised us of the following: "...the consensus is to do urinalysis and BUN/Creat on all children adopted from China from 2005 onward and if abnormal, get a renal ultrasound."

We know this information comes as a surprise and may be upsetting. We will continue to monitor the situation carefully and advise you of any further recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. As we continue to place many children from China, especially children with special needs, we will continue to be in contact with the CCAA as well regarding this issue.

We are sending this e-mail to all families who have adopted from China since January 2005 for whom we have an e-mail address. If you know of other families that may benefit from this information, please feel free to forward this on.

Best wishes,

Elizabeth and the WACAP team"