The possibility of knowing if a pregnant woman expects a baby with Down syndrome through a non-invasive test that does not carry a risk of abortion has been discussed for years. Now it seems that the possibility comes true, since The test already exists and has been commercialized for a week in clinics in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
The trade name of the test is PraenaTest and has been developed by the company LifeCodexx. In principle, the test is aimed exclusively at pregnant women with a gestation time of more than 12 weeks and with a high risk of having a baby with Down syndrome.
I imagine that this screening will be carried out when it is the state that has to pay for the test, in the same way that an amniocentesis is only done when indicated by protocol, because if a couple wants to do it without fulfilling those requirements (especially the high risk if you have a baby with Down syndrome), it is most likely that paying can be done, just as in Spain, if a couple pays, an amniocentesis can be done (in Catalonia we say “pagant, Sant Pere sings”, which translates as "paying, San Pedro sings".
The test detects if the fetus has Down syndrome through a mother's blood test. It is said that it is not an invasive test because the baby's space is not invaded and thus the risk of abortion of amniocentesis, which is between 0.5 and 1%, is eliminated. The test is totally reliable, as it has 100% sensitivity, there being no false negatives, and a specificity also of 100%, there being no false positives.
Obviously, the controversy is served with this new test. The company that markets it defends the product explaining that the objective is to reduce the number of abortions (up to 700 per year only in Germany) derived from invasive tests (if couples are going to look at it equally, unless there is no risk of abortion ), however, the International Down Syndrome Federation (which tried to avoid the commercialization of the test, by requesting recognition “The human condition and the right to life of people with Down syndrome or any other disability is protected”) and other ethical and religious organizations have complained because many couples who would not have amniocentesis will have this test done, thus increasing the number of abortions.
Lifecodexx, meanwhile, has stated that it is preparing new tests to detect other chromosomal problems that may occur during pregnancy, making us think that, if this continues, it will be difficult to see in the future people born with a genetic disorder.
Now the debate around the test has already originated in Spain, given the possibility that this test reaches our territory. Miriam and I have always commented that neither we would have an amniocentesis (well, it is understood that they would not do it to her) nor would we have this test, because speaking of the possibility that any of our children came with a disability we made the decision to that we would have it equally.
However, I am aware that the majority of the population does not think alike and it is certain that this test will be well received if it finally reaches our country, as the data is clear: 95% of couples who are informed that they expect a baby with Down syndrome to abort, or what is the same, said in numbers, of every 20 couples who find out they will have a baby with Down syndrome, only one decides to continue the pregnancy.
