What is NIPT ? Revealing the Science behind ClariT NIPT !

Pregnancy is one of the happiest feeling a couple goes through. It is an emotional and beautiful journey that is cherished throughout your life. It is full of happiness and excitement and also comes with a sense of well being. There are numerous routine tests that you undergo just to keep a check on your baby’s health. Any abnormal results from the Maternal Serum Screening tests or abnormal USG findings might turn your happiness into worry and concern. Expecting parents want clarity regarding the health of their baby, this is where ClariT NIPT comes in the picture. Non invasive prenatal screening is significant in finding the genetic disorders associated with the developing baby.

ClariT NIPT, which is a targeted and sensitive technique, have a great impact on specific fears, such as your baby having the risk of a chromosomal abnormalities like Down Syndrome, Edward Syndrome, Patau Syndrome, etc.

What is Non Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) ?

At the time of pregnancy, cell free DNA of your baby travels to your blood stream and floats along with your own DNA. ClariT NIPT accurately screens for the fetal cell-free DNA in your blood stream to detect the occurrence of Down’s Syndrome and other trisomy conditions as well. It can be done from 10 weeks+ gestation.

You must be thinking that this test might bring some risk to your baby, but as the name suggests it is a non-invasive process, which requires a simple blood draw and poses no risk of miscarriage. It is completely safe for the growing fetus. NIPT detect the presence of anomalies affecting chromosomes 21, 18 and 13, also the most common anomalies affecting the sex chromosomes X and Y.

Other tests for checking genetic abnormalities in Fetus are invasive. They involve collecting a sample from inside the amniotic sac or from the placenta which have a small risk of miscarriage. Therefore it is stressful to decide on whether or not to perform such a test. However, NIPT is a screening Test which means that High Risk from this test needs to be confirmed through Invasive Testing.

Who should be tested?

• A women with advanced maternal age (>=35).
• High Risk on Maternal Serum Screening.
• Abnormal ultrasound findings.
• History of a previous baby with Down’s syndrome.
• Risk confirmation for Chromosomal abnormalities in Twin Pregnancy.

How Accurate is ClariT NIPT

As ClariT NIPT uses the latest Massive Parallel sequencing technology for the analysis of fetal DNA with respect to maternal DNA, certain chromosomal anomalies can be predicted with great precision and reliability. It has an accuracy of 99.9% for the chromosomal anomalies like 21, 18, 13, X and Y. False positives are rare and with such great level of accuracy expecting parents can freely enjoy the positive aspects of pregnancy.

How does NIPT detect for the Chromosomal abnormality like Down’s syndrome?

Individuals normally have 23 pairs of chromosomes and each chromosome is made up of DNA containing our genetic information in the form of genes. Down syndrome occurs when a person has an extra copy of chromosome 21. The presence of this extra genetic information is what causes the physical and mental characteristics of people with Down syndrome. ClariT NIPT for Down syndrome works by analysing the DNA fragments present in the maternal blood plasma. Most of this comes from the mother, but in addition about 10%-20% of it comes from the fetus. Therefore, by analyzing all the DNA sequences linking to individual chromosomes, the total amount of chromosome 21 in the mother’s blood can be compared with the amount of the other chromosomes. A normal sample has two copies of each chromosome and If the baby has an extra copy of chromosome 21 it is called as Trisomy 21 which causes Down Syndrome.

Considering this test to be a Non Invasive, highly accurate and Risk Free procedure, ClariT NIPT is one of the most trusted screening procedure by top gynaecologists in India.

Healthy Babies with ClarIT !