Advantages of a Non-Invasive Prenatal Test for Down Syndrome

 

  • You only require 1 single medical blood draw for this test
  • It carries a 0% risk of miscarriage or stress of the fetus
  • The test can be carried out as early as 10 weeks from your last menstrual cycle
  • Results in only 3-5 working days
  • Prepaid courier fee for returning your samples.

Do I Need This Test?

There are many reasons why you may wish to carry out this test. This test offers pregnant mothers an accurate, reliable and 100% safe indication as to whether their child suffers from Down’s syndrome or another abnormality on chromosome 13 or 18. If prior screening tests (such as an ultrasound) have indicated a chance of carrying a baby with Down’s syndrome, this test is more accurate than other screening tests and will provide a more accurate result. This test would be strongly recommended if:

 

  • If you are over 35 years of age (the chances of a Down syndrome baby increases in women who conceive over 35 years of age)
  • A previous test such as a maternal serum test or ultrasound suggested the presence of a Down’s syndrome
  • You have a personal or family history of chromosomal aneuploidies for trisomies 21, 18 or 13

Important: A doctor will need to collect the blood sample required for this test. The sample collection kit will need to be sent directly to your doctor. Kindly ensure you provide us with your doctor’s address so that we can send the kit directly to them.

The NIPT Test Results

The non-invasive prenatal test results will show one of the following 3 results:

 

Result What it means
No Aneuploidy Detected This test result means that this test identified the expected number of copies of chromosomes reported.
An Aneuploidy Detected This test result means that this test identified too many or too few copies of one of the chromosomes as seen on the report. This can indicate either a trisomy or a sex chromosome aneuploidy.
An Aneuploidy Suspected This test result means that this test identified more copies than expected of the chromosomes reported. This means that your provider should follow up on this result to obtain more information.

FAQs

Can I carry out the test if I have had IVF?
Is the test conclusive?
Will I have enough fetal DNA in my blood sample?
Will I need to carry out further testing like amniocentesis or CVS?

Can I carry out the test if I have had IVF

The test can be performed on women who conceived via assisted reproductive technology (ART) such as In-vitro fertilization, including use of a donor egg.

Is the test conclusive?

The test does provide very accurate results but is not 100% conclusive. The results will provide a very good indication to your doctor as to whether trisomies 21, 18, 13 or sex chromosome abnormalities are present. The test has been shown to be the most accurate and sensitive test available.

Will I have enough fetal DNA in my blood sample?

As pregnancy progresses, the baby increases in size and the amount of fetal DNA shed into the maternal blood stream increases. At 10 weeks, the amount of fetal DNA should suffice to successfully complete the test. However, there may be rare instances where the amount of fetal DNA in the sample sent in is too low.

Will I need to carry out further testing like amniocentesis or CVS?

The non-invasive prenatal test for aneuploidies is extremely accurate and it will greatly reduce the need for any further testing. That said, depending on the results of your test, your gynecologist may suggest further invasive tests like amniocentesis.


Order Now