How much does early Down syndrome screening cost?

Down syndrome (DS), also known as trisomy 21 or congenital idiocy, is a genetic disease of autosomal abnormalities, accounting for 95% of chromosomal diseases. Although most babies with Down syndrome often miscarry spontaneously in the early stages of their mother's pregnancy, the fertility rate of Down syndrome babies still accounts for 1/600-1/800 newborns, so Down syndrome screening is very necessary. Pregnant women over 35 years old are at high risk for Down syndrome, and it is recommended that pregnant women aged 35 years or older should undergo Down syndrome screening.

How much does Down syndrome screening cost?

Due to differences in regional or hospital outpatient standards, each hospital's outpatient charging standards are different. Generally speaking, Down syndrome screening costs about 200 yuan. Some hospitals charge 180 yuan for a single Down syndrome screening test. If other tests are performed in conjunction with it, the price may increase significantly. For example, the price of a complete set of routine blood tests is about 650 yuan. For example, the price of Down syndrome screening at Guangdong Women and Children's Hospital is around 181 yuan. In some cities and regions, you can take your household registration booklet to the community neighborhood committee to apply for a free coupon for Down syndrome screening.

When pregnant women are doing Down syndrome screening, the first thing they consider is not the price, but the safety. Down syndrome screening done by regular hospitals is safe and accurate, which gives pregnant mothers peace of mind. The second thing they consider is the price.

How to do Down syndrome screening

Generally speaking, when doing Down syndrome screening, you should avoid drinking water after 12 o'clock at night the day before the test, and come to the hospital for testing on an empty stomach the next morning (fasting is not necessary). In addition, the examination is also related to the menstrual cycle, weight, height, exact gestational age, and gestational age. It is best to consult a doctor for other preparations before the examination.

The screening includes extracting venous blood from pregnant women, as well as the ultrasound index NT (nuchal translucent membrane thickness) or alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and free estriol (uE3) and inhibin A (Inhibin A) (four items in the middle and late stages), combined with the pregnant woman's date of birth, weight, age and gestational age when blood was drawn, to calculate the risk of "Down syndrome". In this way, when the false positive rate is 5%, more than 80% of Down syndrome children can be detected.

In the detection of multiple index values ​​of maternal blood cells for prenatal diagnosis, radioimmunoassay, enzyme immunoassay, time-differentiated immunofluorescence assay and electrochemiluminescence are generally used. Because the results of radioimmunoassay and enzyme immunoassay have great genetic variation, time-differentiation immunofluorescence and chemiluminescence methods are generally used at this stage. The country strongly recommends time-differentiation immunofluorescence.