The NHS is set to trial a new blood test to diagnose Down’s syndrome in unborn babies.
The test involves looking for fragments of DNA from the placenta and the unborn baby floating in the mother’s bloodstream and is currently available in private hospitals.
It will be trialled by the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, which will provide information on how and when it can be introduced into the NHS.
The study is being funded by the National Institute for Health Research and is being furthered in collaboration with the UK National Screening Committee.
Screening
Currently all pregnant women are offered screening for Down’s syndrome, which involves a combination of an ultra sound scan and a blood test for the mother.
Women who are more likely to have a child with Down’s are offered further invasive tests but these tests carry a one-in-100 chance of miscarriage.
The test involves using a needle to take a sample of cells from the placenta or the fluid around the baby.
Advocates of the new blood test say that it will allow earlier and safer detection of Down’s syndrome than the invasive test.
Parliamentary commission
Earlier this year, a parliamentary commission found that approximately 90 per cent of unborn babies who are diagnosed with Down’s syndrome in England and Wales are aborted after pre-natal testing.
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