Pregnancy and Triple Blood Test
Hello,
My wife is approx 16 weeks pregnant and things are progressing well.
We had our first child in the UK and at about this stage of the pregnancy we were offered a routine blood test called the Triple Test.
The Triple Test is aimed at identifying pregnancies that may have a higher chance of being affected by Down's Syndrome.
We have been visiting Doha Clinic for all our antenatal check-up's, however, they do not offer the Triple Blood Test.
Does anyone know whether any other private hospital or Hamad Hospital would provide the test if we requested it?
Thank you in advance.
Hi Expat Sueño, Please pass my thanks to your friend for the detailed response.
We did have the 12 week scan at Doha Clinic and the Nuchal Translucency (NT) measurement came back as 1.2mm which is interpreted as low risk.
This reading, combined with the Triple Blood Test should hopefully provide us with a more confident assessment.
We have a couple of options of following-up with Al-Emadi and Al-Ahli hospitals and will report back here how we get on.
Thanks.
Here's the response from my friend:
I had my bloods taken at Al Ahli, I cannot verify the costs as we are insured and I don't remember what the fees are. But if you head to the desk in front of the laboratory on the ground floor, through the main entrance on the left hand side (opposite the cafe) I am sure they would advise or assist you there. I am not sure however if you need a written request from a GP to do this though, so you may need to check first. I believe Hamad do this test as well but I am not sure of the procedure there.
What I would say though is that the blood test is not 100% accurate. I believe there is a high false positive rate and the results are generally correct in 85% of cases. If it was combined with an NT measurement (from 12 week scan) then the results give a 95% success rate. But as your wife is approaching 16 weeks the window for that measurement will have been missed because you only have up to 13 weeks and 6 days. Dependent on age and given the high false positive rate it is important to assess whether it would be worth having the test or just waiting for the anomaly scan. It can cause a lot of unnecessary pressure and worry especially if the age of the woman would already put her at high risk (obviously I do not know your wife's age so cannot comment). There are tables on the internet which gives the figures for the 'risk dependent on age'.
Also, the other question is why you would want the test. Would it be to prepare for the birth of a child with problems or would it alter the pregnancy in any way? Just some questions to ask yourselves so you know if it would be worth the worry should the result not come back with a 'good' result.
I hope the pregnancy goes well and wish you both luck.
Expat Sueño, Thank you I will send you a Private Message and would really appreciate if you or your friend could provide any further information.
perry1979, Thanks I will follow-up with El Emadi Hospital. I'm aware that the test result will only provide a probability.
shera, I am more interested in pre-natal screening at this stage but appreciate the info on the post-natal check.
actually there is another option to know if your baby is at risk for down syndrome..just get a new born screening 2 days after baby is born
Try Al Emadi Hospital I inquired about the test and the answer was that they can do it if I am ready to spend QAR 1000 on test which will give me only percentage but no definite answer.I think they send the specimen in Germany as many other hospitals in Qatar do.
I know someone who recently went through this. Send me a PM (you'll need to activate your account accordingly) and I'll put you in touch with her or at least ask her for some info to pass to you.
Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.