Home TV Radio Talk ... Newswatch Last Updated: Wednesday, 3 March, 2004, 00:43 GMT E-mail this to a friend Printable version Hope for safer foetus gene tests Better blood tests may be in the offing Scientists have found a way to maximise the amount of DNA from an unborn baby they can take from the mother's blood. They hope the technique will aid the development of more effective non-invasive tests to determine whether a baby has genetic abnormalities. Current tests, such as amniocentesis, require tissue samples, and pose a small risk to the pregnancy. The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was carried out by US company Ravgen. Being able to identify genetic abnormalities at an early stage not only gives parents the chance to decide whether or not to proceed with the pregnancy, it also alerts medical staff to the need for close monitoring right through to birth. However, the invasive nature of current tests, which also include chorionic villus sampling and taking blood from the umbilical cord, mean that some women are reluctant to take the risk of having them. At present we can tell a foetus's blood group from a maternal blood sample, but that is about it | |
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