Test First. Counsel Later.

NTD Laboratories, Inc. of New York describes itself as "a specialty hi-tech, bio-medical laboratory dedicated to pre-natal screening for birth defects," is announcing an "extraordinary, new, non-invasive, Ultra-Screen(R) Instant Risk Assessment (IRA(SM)) at-home blood test, which paves the way for the earliest possible on the spot, risk assessment of the most common chromosomal abnormalities with 91% accuracy." The test is marketed as an at-home early warning test for Trisomy 18 and Down Syndrome.

This new program includes an at-home blood test, which can be done by the patient in the privacy of her home. The patient uses an in-home blood specimen collection system and sends her dried blood card directly to NTD Laboratories as early as nine weeks of pregnancy. By the time the patient sees her doctor for her eleven-week ultrasound, the blood results have been entered into the NTD Labs database, and the patient can receive instant information and risk analysis. With 91% accuracy, this makes Ultra-Screen IRA the earliest, most stress-free test available. Other versions of the test require the patient to give a blood sample at the time of the 11-week ultrasound examination, meaning the patient must wait days after the ultrasound to know her baby's Down syndrome and trisomy 18 status. Ultra-Screen Instant Risk Assessment Program means early reassurance for millions of pregnant woman.

After the screening, the company suggests that it will now be possible to arrange "same day genetic counseling," an improvement that is produced (ironically) by the fact that the patient has already been tested. [Thanks Gregor Wolbring]