Information
At GYN MEDICO, we offer the most reliable available test for prenatal screening of fetal chromosomal abnormalities, known as Prenascan. Prenascan is a blood test that analyzes the fetal DNA circulating in the mother's bloodstream. It is used to detect the most common chromosomal disorders, including Down, Edwards, Patau, Turner, and Klinefelter syndromes. Additionally, Prenascan can determine the fetus's gender based on chromosomes. This test is recommended for pregnant women over 35 and for any woman who, after consultation with her doctor, decides that genetic screening of the fetus is desirable. The test is not covered by health insurance.
How It Works
In the early stages of pregnancy, free fetal DNA circulates in the mother’s blood. This DNA can be isolated, analyzed, and screened for trisomies through specialized laboratory testing. Prenascan can be performed as early as the 11th week of pregnancy. For the expecting mother, the test involves a simple blood draw, which we then send to a specialized laboratory for analysis. The blood test screens for the presence of trisomies 9, 16, 21, 22, 18, 13, identifying chromosomal disorders such as Down, Edwards, Patau, Turner, and Klinefelter syndromes, as well as determining the fetus’s gender.
Advantages of Prenascan
Prenascan is a non-invasive and painless test that poses no risk to either the mother or the baby. It has a very high reliability and can exclude the monitored chromosomal disorders with 98% accuracy as early as the 11th week of pregnancy (with a need for test repetition in less than 2% of cases). Compared to other tests, Prenascan offers higher sensitivity and accuracy with significantly lower false-positive rates. This reduces the need for invasive screening procedures such as chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis. Another major advantage is that test results are available within 10 working days from the blood draw.
