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Blood tests that screen pregnant people for signs of genetic abnormalities run the risk of giving people false or misleading information, the Food and Drug Administration warned Tuesday. The agency put out a safety communication stressing that the widely used tests, often called noninvasive prenatal tests (NIPTs), aren’t cleared or approved by a regulatory body.
These tests often screen for rare genetic conditions in developing fetuses. But they’re just screening tests, the FDA said in a statement, and a positive result does not guarantee a fetus has a genetic condition. “We strongly urge patients to discuss the benefits and risks of these tests with a genetic counselor or other health care provider prior to making decisions based on…
