A large number of women in India seek antenatal care only in the later stages of pregnancy. According to Sankalp's experience, within the women who do come for antenatal care before 20 weeks, 1 in 6 women seek care for the first time after 18 weeks. When these women choose to participate in targeted antenatal screening for thalassemia and sickle cell disease, the process begins with testing the woman. If she is found to be a carrier, the husband is also tested. If both are found to be carriers, the at-risk couple undergoes invasive prenatal diagnosis, where a sample is taken from the fetus and tested for the disease.
In Sankalp's experience, it takes 2-3 weeks for the fetal test reports to come back, leaving very little time for the family to make an informed choice.
Sankalp Labs has a highly competent diagnostic workflow that allows testing of most samples within 3 days. However, fetal testing is highly regulated and requires registration under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act. In December 2024, Sankalp Labs successfully secured this registration, enabling the lab to offer fetal testing.
This is a major breakthrough as it allows the lab to provide results within 3 days for genetic testing for hemoglobinopathies, enabling faster diagnostics in such time-critical situations. This development will significantly strengthen Sankalp's program for thalassemia prevention and enable more families to make an informed choice in a timely manner. Additionally, the laboratory will explore further advances, including non-invasive prenatal diagnosis, with this added capability.
Team Sankalp is excited to see how this development helps strengthen our program for thalassemia prevention and provide more opportunities for families to make informed decisions about their health.