NIPT Test at Numi Scan Gosforth
A simple maternal blood draw from 10 weeks, screened for the three most common chromosomal conditions, with sex chromosomes (and on higher tiers, microdeletion conditions) available too. Choose Standard, Advance or Absolute, booked through our long-standing Newcastle clinic on Bakers Yard.
From £265, Standard, Advance & Absolute tiers
What's Included
A short early pregnancy scan, the DNA-based NIPT blood draw, and a personal results call once the lab returns the report
Screens for Trisomy 21, 18 and 13 in one blood draw
Optional sex-chromosome reporting at no extra cost
Self-referral, no GP letter needed
Includes a short early pregnancy scan to confirm dates
Complimentary black & white prints to take home
Lab-reported results in 3–5 working days
Maternal blood test only, nothing invasive for baby
Detection rate above 99% for the three conditions screened
Available from 10 weeks gestation onwards
Three NIPT tiers to choose from
All tiers screen for the three major chromosomal conditions and offer optional gender determination. Higher tiers expand the panel to additional sex-chromosome and microdeletion conditions. Each tier is available as a blood test alone or combined with an early pregnancy scan.
NIPT Standard
From 10 weeks
- Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)
- Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome)
- Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome)
- Optional gender confirmation
NIPT Advance
From 10 weeks
- Everything in Standard
- Sex-chromosome conditions (Turner, Klinefelter, etc.)
- Optional gender confirmation
- Wider screening panel
NIPT Absolute
From 10 weeks
- Everything in Advance
- Selected microdeletion syndromes
- Most comprehensive panel we offer
- Optional gender confirmation
Tier-by-tier breakdown
Here's exactly what each tier covers, laid out side by side. As you move up from Standard, the screening panel widens, first to sex chromosome conditions, then to a comprehensive microdeletion panel.
| What's screened | Standard | Advance | Absolute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trisomy 21 (Down's syndrome) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Trisomy 18 (Edwards' syndrome) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Optional fetal sex reporting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sex chromosome aneuploidies (XO, XXY, XYY, XXX) | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| 60 microdeletion syndromes | — | — | ✓ |
| Validated for twin pregnancies | ✓ | — | — |
← Scroll right to compare the tiers →
Looking for gender determination only?
Our Early Gender Blood Test uses the same DNA technology focused specifically on baby's sex, from 7 weeks, £125 (or £175 with an early pregnancy scan).
How NIPT screening works
NIPT, Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing, looks for tiny fragments of placental DNA that have crossed into the mother's bloodstream. From a single tube of your blood, the lab counts those fragments and works out the statistical likelihood of three chromosomal conditions.
It is not a diagnostic test. It is a screen, but a very precise one. Detection rates sit above 99% for Trisomy 21, 18 and 13, and the false-positive rate is a fraction of what the older combined test produces. That matters because a clearer screening result means fewer expectant mums are sent for amniocentesis or CVS to chase a vanishingly small risk. For the wider picture have a look at our 12-week milestone guide or our NHS vs private comparison.
Optional gender reporting is included, useful if you also want gender confirmation alongside chromosomal screening. If sex is the only thing you're interested in, the standalone Early Gender Blood Test from £125 (from 7 weeks) is the cheaper route.
The clinical case for NIPT is backed by major international professional bodies, ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists), SMFM (Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine), ACMG (American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics), ESHG (European Society of Human Genetics) and the International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis all support its use in private and clinical practice.
Who can book NIPT?
NIPT is available from 10 weeks of pregnancy onwards and is suitable for most women with singleton or twin pregnancies, whether conception occurred naturally or through IVF. Many women choose to have the test after their dating scan or during the late first or early second trimester.
There are some situations where NIPT may not be suitable or may require specialist advice:
- Pregnancies affected by a vanishing twin, as residual DNA from the demised twin can affect accuracy
- Some triplet or higher-order multiple pregnancies, depending on the laboratory used
- Other specific clinical circumstances that can be discussed during your appointment
What happens on the day
The whole appointment is roughly half an hour and follows three steps:
- 1. Quick scan first. A short early pregnancy reassurance scan to confirm dates, check the heartbeat and rule out any reason the bloods would be premature.
- 2. Blood draw. One tube from your arm, the same routine as any blood test you've had at the GP.
- 3. Lab processing. Your sample is sent to our DNA analysis lab and the report comes back to us within 3–5 working days.
We phone or email you the moment the report arrives, and we'll talk you through what each line means. Easy parking on Bakers Yard, ground-floor access, and no waiting around in a busy hospital outpatients.
When expectant mums opt for private NIPT
From 10 weeks any expectant mum can book NIPT privately for a sharper read than the standard NHS combined test. A few situations that bring our Gosforth patients in specifically:
Sharper accuracy than the NHS combined screen
Detection above 99% for T21, T18 and T13, and a false-positive rate roughly ten times lower than the standard first-trimester screen.
Pregnancy in your mid-30s or later
Background trisomy risk rises with age, and NIPT gives high-confidence reassurance from a single blood draw, no amnio risk, no waiting around.
When amniocentesis or CVS isn't right for you
If invasive testing is contraindicated, placenta praevia, increased miscarriage risk, or simply too much to take on, NIPT delivers screening information with zero procedural risk.
After a previous trisomy diagnosis
A previous pregnancy with T21, T18 or T13 makes most expectant mums want a clearer read earlier, NIPT delivers that with the highest detection rate available outside a diagnostic test.
Soft markers on an early scan
If your dating or 12-week scan picks up soft markers that nudge the trisomy risk upward, NIPT can refine that with a DNA-level answer.
IVF pregnancies and recurrent miscarriage
After IVF or repeat losses, the extra confidence of a DNA-level screening result matters. NIPT works just as well for IVF pregnancies as for natural conceptions.
NIPT eligibility checklist
NIPT works for most pregnancies, but a handful of medical or pregnancy-related factors affect suitability. If anything below isn't clear-cut, give the Gosforth clinic a call before booking.
| Factor | Details | Suitable? |
|---|---|---|
| Stage of pregnancy | From 10 weeks gestation onwards | Yes |
| Earlier than 10 weeks | No | |
| Singleton vs twins | Single baby, or twins on the Standard tier | Yes |
| Triplets or higher-order multiples | No | |
| Vanishing twin syndrome | Arrest ended 8 or more weeks before sample, and was before week 8 of pregnancy | Yes |
| Under 8 weeks since the arrest | No | |
| Arrest happened after week 8 of pregnancy | No | |
| On heparin therapy | 24+ hour pause before the sample | Yes |
| Under 24 hours since the last dose | No | |
| Past or current tumor | In remission, no circulating tumor DNA | Yes |
| Currently undergoing treatment | No | |
| Recent immunotherapy with exogenous DNA | 4 weeks or more since last therapy | Yes |
| Less than 4 weeks since the most recent session | No | |
| Human serum albumin therapy | 4 weeks or more since the last infusion | Yes |
| Within 4 weeks of last infusion | No | |
| Blood transfusion | 1 year or more since last transfusion | Yes |
| Within the past 12 months | No | |
| Stem cell therapy | Any past or current stem cell therapy | No |
| Past maternal organ transplant | Any organ transplant in your history | No |
| Abnormal maternal karyotype | Inversion, translocation, deletion, duplication or mosaicism, requires individual consultation before booking | No |
← Scroll right to see the full table →
What's screened, by condition group
NIPT looks at three families of chromosomal conditions, with progressively wider panels as you move up the tiers.
The three main trisomies
Every tierTrisomy 21
Down's syndrome
Trisomy 18
Edwards' syndrome
Trisomy 13
Patau syndrome
Sex chromosome aneuploidies
Advance + AbsoluteTurner
Monosomy X
Klinefelter
XXY syndrome
Jacob's
XYY syndrome
Triple X
XXX syndrome
60 microdeletion syndromes
Absolute tierShow me the full 60-syndrome panel
- Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS)
- Angelman / Prader-Willi syndrome
- Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome (BRRS)
- Branchiootorenal dysplasia (BOR) / Melnick-Fraser syndrome
- Cat eye syndrome (CES)
- Chromosome 10q deletion syndrome
- Chromosome 10q22.3-q23.31 microdeletion
- Chromosome 18p deletion syndrome
- Chromosome 18q deletion syndrome
- Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CDLS)
- Cowden syndrome (CD)
- Cri du Chat (5p deletion) syndrome
- Dandy-Walker syndrome (DWS)
- DiGeorge syndrome type 2 (DGS2)
- Distal arthrogryposis type 2B (DA2B)
- Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD)
- Dyggve-Melchior-Clausen syndrome (DMC)
- Feingold syndrome
- Holoprosencephaly type 1 (HPE1)
- Holoprosencephaly type 4 (HPE4)
- Holoprosencephaly type 6 (HPE6)
- Jacobsen syndrome
- Langer-Giedion syndrome (LGS)
- Leukodystrophy with 11q14.2-q14.3
- Mental retardation, X-linked growth hormone deficiency (MRGH)
- Microphthalmia, syndromic type 6, pituitary hypoplasia
- Microphthalmia with linear skin defects
- Monosomy 9p syndrome
- Orofaciodigital syndrome
- Panhypopituitarism, X-linked
- Potocki-Lupski syndrome (17p11.2 duplication)
- Prader-Willi-like syndrome (SIM1)
- Rieger syndrome type 1 (RIEG1)
- Saethre-Chotzen syndrome (SCS)
- Sensorineural deafness and male infertility
- Smith-Magenis syndrome
- Split-hand/foot malformation type 3 (SHFM3)
- Split-hand/foot malformation type 5 (SHFM5)
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (HCD/DIH)
- Trichorhinophalangeal syndrome type I (TRPSI)
- Van der Woude syndrome (VWS)
- WAGR syndrome and aniridia II
- Wilms tumor 1 (WT1)
- X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome (XLP)
- Xp11.22-p11.23 microduplication syndrome
- 1p36 microdeletion syndrome
- 1q41-q42 microdeletion syndrome
- 2q33.1 deletion / Glass syndrome
- 5q21.1-q31.2 deletion syndrome
- 8p23.1 deletion syndrome
- 8p23.1 duplication syndrome
- 11q11-q13.3 duplication syndrome
- 12q14 microdeletion syndrome
- 14q11-q22 deletion syndrome
- 15q26 overgrowth syndrome
- 16p11.2-p12.2 microdeletion syndrome
- 16p11.2-p12.2 microduplication syndrome
- 17q21.31 deletion syndrome
- 17q21.31 duplication syndrome
Performance, by the numbers
Sensitivity and specificity figures per condition, drawn from a validation study covering more than 146,000 pregnancies.
| Condition | Sensitivity | Specificity |
|---|---|---|
| Trisomies | ||
| Trisomy 21 (Down's syndrome) | 99.17% | 99.95% |
| Trisomy 18 (Edwards' syndrome) | 98.24% | 99.95% |
| Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome) | >99.9% | 99.96% |
| Microdeletions (copy-number variants) | ||
| CNV >10 Mb | >99.9% | 99.97% |
| CNV <10 Mb | >99.9% | 99.86% |
| Sex chromosome aneuploidies | ||
| Turner syndrome (XO) | >99.9% | 99.6% |
| Klinefelter syndrome (XXY) | >99.9% | 99.6% |
| Jacob's syndrome (XYY) | >99.9% | 99.6% |
| Triple X syndrome (XXX) | >99.9% | 99.6% |
| Fetal gender | ||
| Fetal sex (gender) | 99.53% | 99.20% |
From a 146,958-pregnancy validation cohort · Resample ~2.18% · No-call ~0.069%
Frequently Asked Questions
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