The time of appearance and disappearance of fetal DNA from the maternal circulation

Abstract

A single copy Y‐chromosome DNA sequence was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the peripheral blood of 30 women who had achieved a pregnancy through an in vitro fertilization (IVF) programme. The time of conception was known precisely and was confirmed by serial ultrasound scans. Conceptions were dated as the number of weeks after fertilization plus 2, to give a time equivalent to the obstetric menstrual dating of the pregnancy (LMP). Y‐chromosome‐specific DNA was detected in all pregnancies with a male fetus (18/30). The earliest detection was at 4 weeks and 5 days, and the latest at 7 weeks and 1 day. Y‐chromosome‐specific sequences were no longer detected in any of the male pregnancies 8 weeks after delivery. No Y‐chromosome sequences were detected in any of the pregnancies where only female babies were delivered. This demonstrates that fetal DNA appears in the maternal circulation early in the first trimester, that it can be identified in all pregnancies tested by 7 weeks, that it continues to be present throughout pregnancy, and that it has been cleared from the maternal circulation 2 months after parturition. Early non‐invasive prenatal diagnosis for aneuploidies and inherited disorders will be possible in all pregnancies if fetal cells can be isolated free from maternal contamination (or identified accurately in the presence of maternal cells) without problems of contamination from previous pregnancies.