Hi all, i posted about this in the Pregnancy forum but thought it might be of interest here too:
I had the NIFTY (non-invasive fetal trisomy) test 7 weeks-ish ago. It is a non-invasive blood test which is 99% accurate in detecting chromosomal abnormalities and works by detecting and testing the fetal DNA in the mother’s blood. It can be performed from 10 weeks onwards.
I chose to have this because they do not offer the NT scan in Wales - just the blood test - so at 38 with my first I chose to pay for a test that would offer much more accuracy.
I went to a private clinic in Cardiff and paid £295. My blood was taken and sent by courier to the Czech Republic. Results take up to 3 weeks - mine were back within 10 days. I think they do offer an expedited service for an additional £200 where you get results within a week.
The clinic also offers the Harmony and from what I understand the significant price difference (Harmony here is £750) is down to an amnio or CVS being included in the Harmony price should you get a positive result.
I am not sure of the availability of the NIFTY across the rest of the UK but I wanted to post to highlight an alternative to the (often prohibitively expensive) Harmony. It is too bad you even have to pay for such accuracy and to avoid unnecessary amnios/CVSs but that's quite a difference.
My results: I was phoned 10 days after blood was taken. I was told I was very low risk (1 in so many hundred million). I then received a letter in the post two days later and the results were presented slightly differently: Downs: Negative, Edwards: Negative, Patau: Negative. So they presented the results in the letter in a 'diagnostic' rather than 'probability' way.
The Nifty also allows you to find out gender too if you so wish. For me, this was just an unexpected benefit to the accuracy of the testing. They only tell you if you want to know.
I think I have covered everything; any questions and I will try and answer.