Gateway Genomics SneakPeek Noninvasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) Identifies Gender with Cell-free Fetal DNA from Microvolumes of Self-collected Maternal Blood

USA - English

• USA - English

LA JOLLA, Calif., May 1, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Gateway Genomics, a leading developer of genomic tests that give families insight into their future children, announces a new publication titled, "Self-Collection of Maternal Blood for Fetal Sex Determination Using Cell-Free DNA" in the journal of Pregnancy and Child Health. Previous studies had only shown early gender determination using venous blood. When translated into practice, this meant women had to travel to licensed phlebotomists to have their blood drawn intravenously, which limited access to noninvasive prenatal tests. The new paper opens the possibility for women to self-collect as little as 7-10 drops of blood from a finger stick in the comfort of their home and learn the gender of their unborn baby. In this study, fetal sex was determined with 100% accuracy.

While many noninvasive prenatal tests screen for disease states that require physicians to explain the intricate results, Gateway Genomics' SneakPeek Early Gender DNA Test is designed to specifically focus on fetal sex and return just one answer – male or female. This enables the test to be run on magnitudes smaller volumes of blood than the typical NIPT. When self-collected maternal blood samples arrive at SneakPeek Labs, extracted cell-free fetal DNA is run through real-time quantitative PCR to detect male Y-chromosome DNA, with sensitivity down to a single copy of the Y chromosome. If male Y-chromosome DNA is detected, the result is a boy. If it's not detected, the baby is a girl. The test is run in approximately 3 hours with up to 100% accuracy.

In this publication, women followed written instructions to collect their own blood samples using small lancets. The average time for blood collection was 5 minutes, and gender results were shown to be 100% accurate.

"In a previous study with 241 participants, we found that the SneakPeek test was 99.6% accurate as early as 9 weeks into pregnancy using intravenous blood," says Gateway Genomics CEO, Chris Jacob. "This study takes it one step further and shows that results can be just as accurate with only 7-10 drops of self-collected blood from a finger stick. This opens the door for convenient at-home testing, where women can choose to learn the gender of their baby from the ease and privacy of their home and be as confident in the results as at a doctor's office."

SneakPeek Early Gender DNA Test is an easy-to-use at-home test to discover a baby's gender as early as 9 weeks into pregnancy. The test kit is sent via mail to the mother's home, and a self-collected blood sample is returned to SneakPeek Labs in a prepaid envelope. Gender results are emailed directly, as early as the following day.

About Gateway Genomics

Gateway Genomics is a personal genomics company with a mission to develop leading-edge genetic tests that give families a new level of understanding about their future children. Since inception, more than 100,000 SneakPeek Early Gender DNA tests have been provided to help new moms bond with their babies, make plans, and connect with friends and family around them. Gateway Genomics is located in La Jolla, CA.

SOURCE Gateway Genomics