Published 13 February 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b618
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b618

News

NHS needs to prepare for era of non-invasive fetal DNA tests

Susan Mayor

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The NHS should take steps to respond to new types of fetal testing set to become increasingly available in the next few years, an expert group has recommended in a report published this week.

Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis uses cell-free fetal DNA that circulates in the mother’s blood during pregnancy. It can be used in several ways, including determination of fetal sex by detecting male Y chromosome DNA in fetuses at risk of a sex linked disease; diagnosing some single gene disorders; detection of an abnormal ratio of chromosomes, such as in Down’s syndrome; and determination of blood type in fetuses at risk of incompatibility, particularly the rhesus D blood antigen.

This approach offers several advantages. It is safer than current, invasive methods of testing, such as amniocentesis, with no risk of miscarriage. It can also be used much earlier in pregnancy, from about seven weeks, compared with 11-16 weeks for . . . [Full text of this article]


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