Fetal nucleic acids in maternal blood: the promises

Fetal DNA is present at an approximate mean fractional concentration of 10% in the plasma of pregnant women. The detection of paternally-inherited DNA sequences that are absent in the maternal genome, e.g., Y chromosomal sequences for fetal sexing and the RHD gene for blood group genotyping, is well established. The recent emergence of single molecule counting technologies, such as digital polymerase chain reaction and massively parallel sequencing has allowed circulating fetal DNA to be used for the non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies and monogenic diseases. With large scale clinical validation and further reduction in costs, it is expected that the analysis of circulating fetal DNA will play an increasingly important role in the future practice of prenatal diagnosis.