Safer screening

New non-invasive and safer prenatal screening tests have been approved.

The new non-invasive tests screen for Down’s, Edwards’ and Patau’s syndrome during pregnancy, and will be offered from 2018.

The new test involves a simple blood test to check for DNA fragments associated with the syndromes. By offering a new non-invasive test, it is hoped to reduce the number of women opting for the more invasive test which carry a risk of miscarriage.

The current testing is offered to approximately 10,000 women a year when blood tests and an ultrasound indicate a heightened chance of their baby developing the syndromes. This is thought to occur in 1 in 150 pregnancies, and involves taking a sample of amniotic fluid or placental tissues from the womb.

By offering the new non-invasive test, it is predicted that the those undergoing invasive testing will reduce from 7,900 to 1,400. As a result, the incidence of miscarriage associated with the test could fall from 46 to approximately 3 per year.

Director of Programmes for the UK National Screening Committee, Dr Anne Mackie, commented

“We will closely manage the roll out of non-invasive prenatal testing to give us a better understanding of the impact it has on the decisions women and their partners make following their test results. We are developing the full detail of the roll out including the number of sites involved and the results and information to be collected. Key to ensuring we get this right is the work we are doing with patient groups, scientists, clinicians, to help us develop balanced informative resources for the public and health professionals”
The tests will be rolled out gradually over a three year period from 2018.

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