Sometimes NIPT gives a high chance result when the fetus does not actually have the condition. But as the conditions affect less than 1% of all children born, a dummy test that gave everybody a low chance result would be 99% accurate.Ī more helpful statistic is the positive predictive value. I think most people would assume that this means their result will tell them pretty much for sure whether their fetus has one of the conditions or not. The websites of most private providers state that NIPT is ‘99% accurate’ or has ‘99% sensitivity’. Disappointingly, despite our best efforts to raise these issues, little has changed.

We highlighted some serious issues with how some (not all) clinics and NIPT test providers are marketing and offering NIPT in the UK. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ 2017 report on the ethical issues raised by NIPT discussed the offer of NIPT in the private sector. It is pretty accurate for Down’s, Edwards’ and Patau’s syndromes even if you are not in the higher chance category, and the test is available from around 9 weeks of pregnancy. However, NIPT can already be accessed through numerous private clinics and hospitals across the UK for around £500. NIPT for these conditions has recently become available to pregnant women in the higher chance category in the NHS in Wales, and it has been promised to women in England and Scotland in the near future.

You still get some false positive results, but far fewer than with older screening tests. NIPT has been shown in multiple studies to be very good at identifying the most common chromosomal conditions – Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome and Patau’s syndrome – particularly in women who have a higher chance of having a fetus with one of these conditions.

This is a newish kind of screening test in which a blood sample from a pregnant woman is used to test for a range of genetic conditions in the fetus, with varying levels of certainty. Disagreements in the care of critically ill children.

Xxx tell me why im waiting for someone