Harmony/ NIPT testing

[EllieJai44]

I have the opportunity to have the testing done, thanks to my parents which I'm considering, theres a few companies that do them and all charge different prices! But don't seem to offer anything more than each other?

I'm considering Ultrasound direct as theirs includes a scan and the test for a more reasonable amount than some of the others that charge more with no scan...

Anyone used thrm for this? Specifically in Essex/ London area?

Or does anyone else have another company they can recommend? Thanks

Fetal Medicine Centre is really good in harley Street. All scans are done by doctors. The NIPT is a £400 bundle that includes your NIPT and a 12 week nuchal scan. Also all their profits go into research which is good. They are currently allowing partners to come too which is nice.

@London2386 see i looked at them but it says if after 11 weeks its like £550? Which confused me

Just give them a buzz via phone, maybe there is an explanation. Maybe that is a misprint as agree it is a little odd.
They booked mine for 10+3 and seemed a good price.

@London2386 thanks I will give them a call and see! It didn't make sense why it was more for the same thing lol

I used ultrasound direct up in Scotland and they were great. Efficient, great scan and videos and results back within a week

My NHS local hospital sent my blood off for me and I paid £295 privately for it. Results back in under a week. This is SW London.

@FizzingWhizzbee123 did it include gender?

I asked a similar question a few months back- also central London/essex area. If I find it, I'll link it.

NIPT is the procedure, whereas Harmony is just one of many brands. there is also SAFE, Nifty, Genea and many others. They are ALL NIPT though. I found that some offered 'extras' as part of the package- additional scans down the line, additional early scan etc- so do check what is included.

Things to consider:

• 1 brand (cant recall which) send all samples to the US to process. This adds time to your results, and esp with covid, will certainly take longer than being processed in the UK.
• How do you get the results and what follow up will be provided? Some will include a CVS/amnio at no extra cost if results are high. Others wont. Some will only post you the results and expect you to then seek help from the NHS for further advice and treatment. I personally think this is very poor practice. If results are high risk, the least they should offer is face to face/skype call, offer a more detailed scan and then discuss next steps with you.
• Discuss with you partner what you'd do if anything did come back as high risk. Its easier to have the discussion beforehand and know how each would feel about termination, further testing etc.

ARC might be useful to look at their website too. My 1st pregnancy has T13, picked up at 10 weeks in the NIPT, so I know a fair amount about it. Feel free to ask any questions.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_tests_choices/3882187-Central-east-London-NIPT-Recommendations

I really like The Birth Company, also in Harley Street. I personally didn't like the sonographer in the branch of Ultrasound Direct near me, so chose not to use them for the Harmony test even though they'd have been cheaper

I used ultrasound direct but in the SW. They were fab, great scan and loads of photos and video. Had it on Monday lunchtime and had results back Friday afternoon. It would have included gender but we chose not to, she did say we could phone anytime and get them to process to get the gender for no extra cost. It was £400 for us.

@Sanch1 thats great thanks! We are considering Ultrasound direct as one of the places! There's so many different brands of tests it gets confusing but from what I gather, they all offer the same lol

Yes it did. There was a box on the form to tick Yes or No to find out the sex. And when the results came through, the midwife double checked we still wanted to know before she emailed the paperwork over. So we found out our baby’s sex at 13 weeks.

Re: brands, there’s very little/no difference so don’t worry too much about that. Ours was sent off to a private lab and the Harmony brand test was completed.

@FizzingWhizzbee123- the actual test/brands have little difference, but the wrap around care, or lack there of can be vastly different between companies. Getting results in the post, with no follow-up care is very poor.

I already mentioned, that those using USA labs take longer to come back, so I'd always go for one with UK labs.

@Elouera how can you tell if they use UK labs? It doesn't say that I can see, I've narrowed it down between Harmony and Vision test x

@EllieJai44- Most places you check online should show where their labs are. If not, just ask them. Nothing wrong with USA labs, but the results will know doubt take longer.

This is from the fetal medicine, Harley st website:

'Who carries out the analysis of your blood for the Harmony test?

We will send your blood sample along with your personal information (including name, date of birth, gestational age) to a company called Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc., San Jose, CA in the USA, who will extract cell-free DNA from your blood and carry out the Harmony test on the cell-free DNA.'

This is from ultasound direct:
'The NIPT is analysed in the UK by our authorised partners: Harmony via TDL. '

we had the harmony test at the Fetal med center in London (been there for 3 diff pregnancies), £450 for 10w scan, test - including gender, and 12w test, or £550 if you go at 11w, test +12scan..worth every penny. Their scanners are great, much better quality than in hospital, and it's done my qualified doctors..also had 20w anomaly scan there, they are brilliant.