The Portland Hospital
205-209 Great Portland Street London W1W 5AH
Non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT)
These tests can help parents better prepare for birth by identifying any additional needs their baby may have.
What are non-invasive prenatal tests?
These non-invasive tests analyse the foetal DNA in your blood to identify whether your baby could have any chromosomal conditions, including Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome and Patau’s syndrome.
We use the Illumina VeriSeq NIPT Solution v2. The test is safe, accurate, and has a high detection rate for these three conditions.
Need to know
A blood sample will be taken by one of our nurse specialists. You will need to have an ultrasound scan just before the blood test, both to confirm the pregnancy and to check that you are not carrying twins or more. The panorama test is not available in twin or donor pregnancies.
Your consultant will let you know how best to prepare for these tests.
You will be able to leave the hospital and carry on with your day as normal immediately following the tests. If any abnormalities are detected in the blood test you will need to have a follow-up appointment with your consultant to discuss the results. Your consultant will carefully take you through your options.