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Does the Carver Laboratory offer prenatal testing?

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No, not directly. There are a number of issues about prenatal genetic testing that make it challenging to perform. The principle ones are the short time that one has to work with to provide the molecular result, and the need for large amounts of individualized counseling before, during, and after the test. These features make prenatal testing so consumptive of laboratory and counseling resources that it would significantly delay the achievement of our primary goal of being able to offer “a clinically useful test for every inherited eye disease for which the gene is known”. However, our laboratory is willing to assist families in obtaining a prenatal test in the following way. If a family has received a molecular diagnosis that would make prenatal testing a consideration for them, and if we offer a validated “fee for service” test for that diagnosis, we can often provide specific technical details about the test we perform as well as details about the family’s molecular diagnosis that will enable a commercial testing laboratory to perform a prenatal test that they would otherwise not be in a position to perform. It should be noted that it can take some time for a family to identify a commercial laboratory and counselor that they feel comfortable working with for prenatal testing and thus it is always desirable to make these arrangements prior to conception.

Retrieved Sat, 2024-12-21 21:23
Last modified Sun, 02/17/2008 - 22:38
carverlab.org/request/prenatal