BGI Diagnostics develops ‘education hub’ to raise awareness about non-invasive prenatal testing

Dec 12 2014

Helping expecting parents and healthcare professionals make informed choices

provider of accurate, reliable and affordable genetic tests and molecular diagnostics services has demonstrated its commitment to raising awareness about non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) by developing a dedicated ‘education hub’ as part of its new, highly informative website.

Designed to provide detailed information for expecting parents and healthcare professionals alike, the web pages include visual explanations of key NIPT terminology, a guide to sample handling and interactive features such as a maternal age risk calculator. In addition to providing this free resource on its website BGI Diagnostics also supports the Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC) charity, providing a complementary information document for healthcare professionals on their website.

NIPT represents an attractive option in cases where expecting women have been identified as having a higher risk of a trisomy condition, the most prevalent of which are Down’s syndrome, Edwards Syndrome and Patau Syndrome. BGI Diagnostics’ NIFTY test provides highly accurate, non-invasive screening for trisomy without an invasive surgical procedure such as amniocentesis or CVS –thereby exposing fewer women to the risk of miscarriage associated with these procedures. All the NIFTY test requires is a simple blood test in order to collect cell-free DNA, which circulates in the mother’s bloodstream during pregnancy.

Further, compared to standard screening tests, which have around a 5% false positive rate, NIFTY has a false positive rate of just 0.1%. This means that fewer women are referred for unnecessary invasive diagnostic testing having been incorrectly identified as at higher risk.

In providing free education resources on its website and partner sites, BGI Diagnostics aims to ensure that both expecting parents and healthcare professionals are appropriately informed to be able to make the best possible choices in each and every circumstance.