The Advisory Council on Hereditary and Congenital Disorders provides advice to the Maryland Department of Health on the policies and procedures regarding the detection and management of these disorders. This body was previously called the Commission on Hereditary Disorders and it was created by Maryland Statute § 13-101 to 13-110. The Council has legislative, medical, and consumer members, which are appointed by the Governor.   The Council considers the incidence of each disease, the effectiveness of treatment, the cost of treatment, public opinion, the opinions of affected individuals and of psychological, ethical, social and economic "experts" in drafting regulations for genetics programs, such as the newborn screening program.   Examples of issues discussed by the council include adding new conditions to the newborn screening panel in Maryland, and the implementation of Health Care Reform with respect to individuals with hereditary or congenital disorders.  The statute establishing the Council requires all genetics programs to be voluntary, to obtain informed consent, to make test results available to the patients and their health care providers, to respect confidentiality, to provide non-directive genetic counseling and to utilize accurate testing procedures and licensed laboratories.

The Statewide Steering Committee on Services for Adults with Sickle Cell Disease is a group of sickle cell patients, health care providers, medical insurers, and community representatives, appointed by the MDH Secretary. The Committee is charged with educating Marylanders about SCD and identifying resources and services that could be used to improve the lives of affected residents.