What Are the Differences Between Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) and Amniocentesis?

The primary difference between amniocentesis and non-invasive prenatal DNA testing (NIPT) lies in the fact that the former is a prenatal diagnostic procedure, whereas the latter is a prenatal screening test. NIPT mainly involves extracting maternal blood to assess whether fetal chromosomes exhibit abnormalities; however, it can only detect numerical chromosomal abnormalities and cannot identify structural abnormalities such as balanced translocations or inversions. In contrast, amniocentesis can definitively determine whether the fetus has chromosomal abnormalities by directly obtaining the fetal karyotype, offering relatively higher accuracy and comprehensiveness. Therefore, if a pregnant woman’s Down syndrome screening or NIPT results indicate a high risk, further amniocentesis is required.