You did not get a result from your non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). A small percentage of patients who have NIPT will get a “failed” or “no call” result.

Reasons for a “no call” NIPT

NIPT can "fail" for various reasons:

• The most common reason is that there is not enough DNA from the baby/placenta in the blood sample. 
•  Having a "no call" NIPT increases the chance that the baby has a chromosome difference. However, keep in mind that most of the time that there is a "no call" NIPT there is in fact no underlying chromosome difference. 
• There are various other factors that are connected to having less DNA than average, and thus increase the chance of getting a "no call" result. These factors include high maternal weight, conceiving the pregnancy through in vitro fertilization (IVF), carrying a twin pregnancy, or having the blood drawn too early for NIPT.

How to avoid a “no call” NIPT result

It is recommended to have an ultrasound prior to NIPT blood draw to minimize the chance for a "no call" result. This is because it is important to know ahead of time if this is a multiple gestation pregnancy, and to have the blood drawn at the correct gestation. However, sometimes a "no call" result be obtained due to reasons outside of your control.

Next steps

• If you get a “failed” or “no call” result,  you may be contacted to have your blood drawn again. It will be indicated on the report whether a blood re-draw is requested in your situation.
• About half the time when a re-draw is pursued, a successful result is obtained from this second blood sample.
• If you paid for your NIPT (i.e. it was not funded by OHIP), you will not have to pay to have your blood redrawn. 
• Due to the increased chance for the baby to have a chromosome difference when there is a "failed" or "no call" result, a referral for genetic counselling is recommended to review your options.
• You can choose to have an invasive diagnostic test if you do not wish to have a re-draw, or if a re-draw is not recommended in your particular circumstance.  

For more information about your NIPT results refer to our Point of Care tools.