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What is NIPT?

NIPT stands for Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing.
Non-invasive means that, unlike certain diagnostic tests such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, there is no invasive surgical procedure. All NIPT requires is a simple maternal blood test in order to collect cell-free fetal DNA, which circulates in the mother’s bloodstream during pregnancy. DNA is then analysed on a  sequencing machine and chromosomal abnormality in the fetus can be detected by ‘counting’ the number of chromosomes present.