Anyone else had the NIFTY test as an alternative to the Harmony?

[swampusdonkus]

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone else had had the NIFTY (non-invasive fetal trisomy) test?

The NIFTY 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 and myriad health problems I chose to pay for a test that would offer much more accuracy.

I went to a private clinic in Cardiff and paid £295 (I was initially going to pay for the NT scan - £195 - but the receptionist said the clinic had just started offering a new blood test called the NIFTY). My blood was taken and sent by courier to the Czech Republic. Results take up to 3 weeks - mine were back within 10 days. They do offer an expedited service for an additional £200 I believe, 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 (we are having a girl).

I think I have covered everything; I am unsure if i can post the name of the clinic - this is my first post so didn't want it to be removed for breaking rules!

Thanks for this, I am also going for a nifty in jan, probably the clinic that you went to as cardiff is the closest one to me in the southwest. I'm also going for it because it's cheaper than harmony and it also seems to have slightly higher certainties than the harmony. So it's good to hear you results.

Would you believe it though, there is ANOTHER new test just out called the panorama. It seems to test for more defects than harmony and nifty, and has yet higher probabilities. But it's more expensive. Only one clinic doing it in the uk so far, and costs are 650-850. Like the harmony, it seems to hVe some scans built into the cost, which I don't want because the Nhs can do all my scans and stuff other than this blood test. So I've decided to stick with nifty and hope that will be good enough enough to thorough check out my foetus developed from a 42, almost 43, yr old egg!! But if panorama prices come down in the future for others it looks better still. We are so lucky that these are out just in time for our age group.

Oh by the way, fetal medicine centre in london still offering harmony and initial scan, and nuchal test all combined for 400. They confirmed to me by email today. But I really only need the nifty for 295.

Thanks for posting this OP. I would have had this test if I'd known about it. I thought my only option was the harmony test... as I wanted to avoid an amnio. I didn't end up having it in the end, so have no idea what my 'risk' is.

I do think it's a bit crap that they don't offer NT in Wales...although I think that they might be introducing it soon. I only say this because when I went for my 12 week scan there was an extra member of staff showing the sonographers how to measure a certain 'membrane' in the neck....and on my photos a measurement of this membrane was shown.

To be honest, it would be great if the NHS could offer a test like Harmony or Nifty...hopefully things will move in this direction...

Hi ladies. I did the Panorama, but I'm based in Johannesburg, South Africa, where this is available. I was actually interested in doing the Harmony, but found out the only laboratory in South Africa that does it is in Cape Town, so I ended up doing the Panorama (which was being sold at a discount as they just started it in the country).
I also had very low risk for the syndromes and confirmed the gender (girl). I got the results back in about 10 business days.

Hi, yes I believe the NHS is introducing NT scans in Wales from 2014, in combo with the blood test, Spaghettinetti . I was shocked that they don't currently offer it but I guess that is down to us having a devolved health service / decision-making.

Oh, btw cornishrex a scan is included in the NIFTY. They said to me before I had my appointment that it was to check the pregnancy was viable before my blood was taken but at my appointment I had the blood taken first as another lady was in with the sonographer. When I had the scan they also did a 4D one which was unexpected, seeing this tiny 12-week old baby moving around!

Hi Cornishrex,

I hope you are well and your Nifty test went okay. I also live in Cornwall and have been looking into the Nifty/Harmony tests. Sadly my last pregnancy resulted in a poorly baby (Down's Syndrome), and we decided not to continue our pregnancy. We went through hell during this time, so now that I am pregnant again, we are keen to try a less invasive form of testing, in order to reduce the risk of miscarriage. I was just wondering how you went about researching and choosing the test, and what your experience of the Cardiff centre was like.

The clinicis called Innermost Healthcare and is at Cardiff Gate Business Park.

swampusdonkus - I just wondered where you found your scan for £295? I can only see Innermost which is £450.
Thank you :)

I live in wiltshire and was offered this as part of a trial the nhs are carrying out because my nuchal scan result was less than 1:1000. I think they hope to offer it to ladies who get a high risk result as an alternative to cvs/amnio. Hopefully as a result of the trial they will start to offer this as an option for people with high risk results.

Congratulations @InDreamland so glad everything is going well! It's so hard to relax after a loss. I'm paranoid before every scan that it will be bad news. Dh is an optimist and says there's no point in worrying, as it doesn't help/achieve anything, whereas I'm more of a realist and would rather brace for the worst. I've told him that after the 12 week scan I'm going to try and worry less and act as though everything is going to be fine. Whether that will happen in practice or not we'll have to see...