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Prenatal Genetic Screening

Prenatal genetic screening can tell a pregnant woman/person their chance of having a baby with Down syndrome, trisomy 18, or an open neural tube defect. It is offered free of charge as a choice to all pregnant women/people with MSP coverage in BC.

It's your choice whether or not to have prenatal genetic screening. The earlier in your pregnancy you see your health care provider, the more options you will have. 

Please watch "It's Your Choice - Learn More About Your Options" for more information about the screening options available to you. 

 

If you have decided to have prenatal screening, use our pregnancy dating tool to find out when to have your blood drawn.


*If you do not have MSP coverage, prenatal genetic screening is available for a fee. BC Children's Hospital finance department will send you an invoice for $150. You may also be charged for blood collection by the facility who draws your blood.

 
  • Publicly-offered screens SIPS, IPS, Quad - Blood collection for SIPS, IPS, Quad can occur at any outpatient hospital or community lab across the province (Eg. health authority-affiliated labs, or community labs such as Lifelabs). Your health care provider must fill out the appropriate lab requisition for you to take with you.


  • Funded NIPS - Blood collection for funded NIPS can occur at select outpatient hospital labs  across the province. These labs are equipped for funded Dynacare Harmony  NIPS collection. Check the list and call them directly to confirm what days/times they are open for NIPS collection appointments. Your health care provider must fill out the appropriate lab requisition for you to sign and take with you. Do not go to Lifelabs  - which offers private pay NIPS option only. 

Sites vary in NIPS collection days. Please call them directly to confirm what days/times they are open for collecting blood for NIPS.


To learn more about prenatal genetic screening in BC:


Download our "Prenatal Genetic Screening: It's your choice" pamphlets.

 

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Download the decision aid brochure to better understand screening and options. The decision aid may help a woman/person think about their personal situation to determine whether screening is important for them to do or not.










Download the visual aid diagram to understand the possible results from having screening.









Download the screening journey pictogram to understand the options for screening.












SOURCE: Prenatal Genetic Screening ( )
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