Overview

NIPT has evolved to be the most powerful prenatal screening test as it bears the potential to identify if the unborn child/fetus is at risk for a number of genetic disorders like Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, Patau syndrome, etc. A simple blood test, the strength of NIPT lies in its ability of being non-invasive thus reducing the risk of miscarriage during testing to absolute nil coupled with the ability to screen for a number of disorders very early on in pregnancy; as early as in 10 weeks; much before other prenatal diagnostic tests. With an accuracy rate of over 95%, this DNA-based test works on the fetal genomic material or DNA present in the mother’s/maternal blood and thus becomes a very powerful assessor of developmental health of the unborn child. On an average the amount of circulating fetal DNA or cff- DNA as it is popularly known is about 10% of all circulating DNA in the maternal blood. NIPT has emerged as an innovation that looks out for unbalanced chromosome counts (aneuploidy) and is ranked to be the most sensitive and accurate of the non-invasive tests. A healthy human has 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell one set from each parents. It includes 22 pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosome i.e XX in females and XY in males. Changes in the number as well as structure of these crucial genetic entity has been associated with a number of different developmental disorders including cancer. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) advises the doctors to discuss all screening options with the carrying women irrespective of the risk or age, and the choice to opt for the test remains personal. Counseling to understand the need is the key in NIPT to weigh potential benefits for a case-by-case basis.

Price : Rs. 11000