What is NIPT?
Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is a screening test to detect certain genetic abnormalities in the early stages of pregnancy. NIPT is designed for singleton and twin pregnancies and can be performed as early as the tenth week of pregnancy by simply taking a venous blood sample from the mother.
What can NIPT detect?
NIPT isolates fragments of DNA (cell-free DNA) in the mother’s blood to provide accurate information about the likelihood of a chromosomal abnormality that could affect the baby’s health. This test can identify the most common chromosomal abnormalities, such as:
Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)
Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome)
Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome)
The baby’s gender
Sex chromosome aneuploidies
Advanced NIPT tests, such as the Prequel® prenatal test, also offer the option to analyze all other chromosomes and detect a large number of microdeletions and duplications.
Who is NIPT for?
In the past, NIPT was offered only to pregnant women with a high risk of chromosomal abnormalities, such as women over age 35 or with a family history of genetic abnormalities. However, professional societies such as The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG)** now recommend NIPT for **all** pregnant women, regardless of age or risk, because it is the most accurate screening test for trisomy 21, trisomy 18, and trisomy 13.
The International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis (ISPD) emphasizes the importance of offering NIPT to every pregnant woman as a primary screening test.
Is NIPT safe?
The Prequel® test is a non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) that analyzes fetal DNA present in the mother's blood. Since it requires only a venous blood sample from the mother, it poses no risk to the safety of the baby and is as simple as any other laboratory test.
How accurate is NIPT?
Thanks to cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) technology, the Prequel® prenatal test can identify pregnancies with Down syndrome with greater than 99.9% accuracy. In contrast, statistical screening tests for Down syndrome (such as the double marker test or the triple marker test) may miss up to 15% of Down syndrome cases.
