PrenatalSAFE 3 is a non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) that screens your baby for Down's, Edwards' and Patau syndromes from a single blood sample taken from your arm, from 10 weeks of pregnancy, with no risk to your baby. It also tells you the baby's sex if you wish. From £315, with free genetic counselling included for any high-chance result. Results are emailed to you within 3 to 5 working days.
NIPT stands for non-invasive prenatal testing. During pregnancy, fragments of DNA from the placenta, which shares the baby's genetic make-up, circulate in your blood. NIPT reads those fragments and counts the copies of particular chromosomes, so it can tell whether there is a high or low chance that your baby has an extra copy of chromosome 21, 18 or 13, the causes of Down's, Edwards' and Patau syndromes. It needs only a blood sample from your arm, so unlike amniocentesis there is no risk of miscarriage. It is a screening test, not a diagnosis.
Three conditions: Down's syndrome (trisomy 21), Edwards' syndrome (trisomy 18) and Patau syndrome (trisomy 13), which together account for the great majority of chromosomal conditions found in pregnancy. It can also report your baby's sex if you choose. It is the same scope as the NIPT offered on the NHS to women whose combined screening shows a higher chance. If you want sex chromosome conditions, all chromosomes or microdeletions screened as well, the PrenatalSAFE 5, Karyo, Karyo Plus and Complete Plus tests add them.
For Down's syndrome, NIPT detects more than 99 percent of affected pregnancies with a false-positive rate below 0.1 percent, which is why it has replaced older blood tests. Accuracy is lower for the rarer conditions, and the positive predictive value, the chance that a high-chance result is correct, varies by condition and by how common it is: the laboratory's own figures are around 99 percent for Down's syndrome, 99 percent for Edwards', 82 percent for Patau, 80 percent for Turner, 94 percent for Klinefelter and 96 percent for Jacobs syndrome. In around 1 to 3 percent of samples too little placental DNA is present for a result and a repeat sample is needed at no charge.
You are contacted personally rather than simply emailed, and offered a consultation with a professional genetic counsellor at no extra cost, included in the price of every PrenatalSAFE test. The counsellor explains exactly what the result means for your pregnancy, the confirmatory options available on the NHS, and the timescales, and can talk to your midwife or consultant. You are not left to interpret a report alone. A high-chance NIPT result is confirmed by chorionic villus sampling from 11 weeks or amniocentesis from 15 weeks, arranged through your NHS maternity team, and only a confirmed result is a diagnosis.
Only in part. The NHS offers NIPT free to women whose combined screening test at 11 to 14 weeks returns a chance of 1 in 150 or higher for Down's, Edwards' or Patau syndrome. Everyone else who wants NIPT, or wants it earlier than the combined test allows, pays privately. PrenatalSAFE 3 gives you the same three-condition screen from 10 weeks for £315, without waiting for a combined test result.
You can order it online and have the sample taken at home, but not take it yourself: NIPT needs a venous blood sample drawn by a qualified professional into a special tube, so there is no finger-prick option. Choose a nurse home visit (£355), a Goodbody clinic (£335), or arrange your own professional collection using the kit we send (£315). Book online and we post the kit to you.
No. NIPT is a screening test. It reads fragments of placental DNA in your blood and reports whether the chance of each condition is high or low. Because placental DNA occasionally differs from the baby's, a high-chance result must be confirmed with a diagnostic test, chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis, before any decision is made, and the NHS will arrange that. A low-chance result is strongly reassuring but not a guarantee, and it does not screen for every condition or for structural problems, which the 20-week scan looks for.
The NHS offers the combined test at 11 to 14 weeks, an ultrasound measurement plus two blood markers, which gives a chance figure and misses around one in ten Down's syndrome pregnancies. Only women whose combined test shows a chance of 1 in 150 or higher are then offered NIPT on the NHS, and NHS NIPT screens for Down's, Edwards' and Patau syndromes only. A private NIPT can be taken by anyone from 10 weeks, without waiting for the combined test result, and the wider PrenatalSAFE panels screen for conditions the NHS test does not cover.
From 10 weeks of pregnancy, once your first scan has confirmed your dates. NIPT can be taken at any point from 10 weeks to the end of pregnancy; 14 weeks is not too late. The 10-week minimum exists because enough placental DNA needs to be circulating for a reliable result. Testing later does not reduce accuracy, although the earlier you test, the more time you have to think about any result and arrange confirmatory testing if needed.
IVF pregnancies, including those from donor eggs, are fine for every PrenatalSAFE test. Twins are more limited: with identical twins (one placenta) all results including sex can be reported; with non-identical twins (two placentas) the baby's sex is not reported, and sex chromosome conditions are not reported for any twin pregnancy. PrenatalSAFE 3 is the recommended test for twins. A vanishing twin, where one of two embryos stopped developing early, also affects what can be reported; tell us when you book.
PrenatalSAFE 3 results are emailed within 3 to 5 working days of your sample reaching the laboratory. The report states clearly, for each condition, whether the chance is low or high, and your baby's sex if you asked for it, so you can take it to your midwife or GP. PrenatalSAFE 5 takes the same time; Karyo takes 5 to 7 working days, Karyo Plus 10 to 12, and Complete Plus reports in two stages.
Choose by how much you want to know:
| Test | Screens for | Price | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| PrenatalSAFE 3 | Down's, Edwards' and Patau syndromes, and your baby's sex | from £315 | 3 to 5 working days |
| PrenatalSAFE 5 | Everything in 3, plus Turner, Klinefelter, Triple X and Jacobs syndromes (sex chromosome conditions) | from £375 | 3 to 5 working days |
| PrenatalSAFE Karyo | Everything in 5, plus every chromosome checked for extra or missing copies and for deletions or duplications over 7 Mb | from £645 | 5 to 7 working days |
| PrenatalSAFE Karyo Plus | Everything in Karyo, plus 9 microdeletion syndromes including DiGeorge, Prader-Willi and Angelman | from £795 | 10 to 12 working days |
| PrenatalSAFE Complete Plus | Everything in Karyo Plus, plus 5 inherited genetic diseases and up to 50 de novo conditions | from £1,545 | 10 then 20 working days |
PrenatalSAFE 3 covers the three most common and most serious chromosomal conditions and is the recommended test for twin pregnancies. Every test includes free genetic counselling for a high-chance result.
Your results report is emailed to you within 3 to 5 working days of your sample reaching the laboratory, stating clearly for each condition whether the chance is low or high. If any result is high chance you are contacted personally and offered a consultation with a professional genetic counsellor at no extra cost, who explains the result and the confirmatory testing available through the NHS. All samples are analysed by a UKAS-accredited laboratory.
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Compare NIPT tests
All Goodbody NIPT tests use a simple, safe blood sample from 10 weeks. The right one for you depends on how much you want to know.
| Compare tests |
PrenatalSAFE 3
From
£315
Your selection
|
PrenatalSAFE 5
From
£375
Upgrade
|
PrenatalSAFE Karyo
From
£645
Upgrade
| ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions screened | 3 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 21+ |
| Down, Edwards & Patau syndrome Trisomy 21, 18 & 13 | |||||
| Sex chromosome disorders Turner, Klinefelter, Jacobs | |||||
| All 23 chromosome pairs Aneuploidies, deletions & duplications | |||||
| 9 microdeletion syndromes Prader-Willi, Angelman, DiGeorge & more | |||||
| 5 inherited genetic diseases Cystic fibrosis, sickle cell, thalassemia, deafness | |||||
| ~50 De Novo diseases Spontaneous mutations not inherited from parents | |||||
| Gender identification Single pregnancies & identical twins | |||||
| Twin pregnancy | |||||
| Results turnaround | 3–5 working days | 3–5 working days | 5–7 working days | 10–12 working days | Staged: 10 & 20 working days |
| From pregnancy week | 10 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
| Sample collection | In-clinic or at home | In-clinic or at home | In-clinic or at home | In-clinic or at home | In-clinic or at home |
| Free post-test genetic counselling Included with every positive result | |||||
| Price (from) | £315 | £375 | £645 | £795 | £1,545 |
| Choose test | Your selection | Choose | Choose | Choose | Choose |
All prices are for in-clinic appointments. Home visits available at a small additional cost. Free post-test genetic counselling is included with every test should a positive result arise.
Meet the clinical lead
This is the safest and easiest way to find out the gender or check the genetic health of your baby during pregnancy, with FREE genetic counselling provided if you receive a positive result for any health condition. We provide a specialised testing kit to take with you to your appointment and a FREE pre-consultation on Karyo, Karyo Plus, and Complete Plus Tests.
Book online, receive your kit and take to your local Goodbody clinic.
Send your sample in the post to be analysed at an accredited laboratory.
Get your comprehensive detailed results report from the laboratory, with guidance from our support team.
Suitable for women of all ages, of at least 10 weeks of gestation (at the time of their blood draw appointment), who have had their pregnancy type (single or twin) previously confirmed by an ultrasound scan. The pregnancy can be naturally conceived or through IVF.
Our genetic health tests are called NIPT tests, or Non-Invasive Prenatal Tests. An NIPT is a blood test taken from the mother during pregnancy, using state of the art DNA technology to check whether the baby has high risks of certain chromosomal health conditions.
During pregnancy the placenta sheds cell free DNA (cfDNA) into the mother’s bloodstream. This means that the mother’s blood continues a mixture of your own DNA, and that of your baby’s placenta. By extracting and evaluating the cfDNA in your blood, we can identify the risk to your baby of a range of health conditions and diseases.
Enquire via the form and a member of our team will get back to you, they are more than happy to help answer your questions and talk through the best option for you.
Contact us if you aren't sure, we'd be happy to help!
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AFTER YOUR TEST
When you’re worried about your health, life can feel very stressful, especially if you don’t have the answers you need. We believe that health testing should be available to all, giving you answers when and where you need them.
That’s why we’ve partnered with Splitit, Dopple and Clearpay so you can pay for your tests in interest-free instalments, if you prefer.
