Harmony test alternatives

No. The Harmony test has been discontinued in the UK. Its laboratory, TDL, withdrew it in September 2023, so it is no longer offered here or elsewhere in the UK.

The good news is that NIPT has moved on considerably. At the London Pregnancy Clinic we now offer a menu of modern tests that screen for the same core conditions Harmony was popular for — Down's syndrome (trisomy 21), Edwards' syndrome (trisomy 18) and Patau's syndrome (trisomy 13), plus fetal sex — with comparable or better performance.

Every NIPT we offer includes an ultrasound scan and a specialist review of your results, with prices starting at £490. If you want a like-for-like replacement, Panorama, Unity and PrenatalSAFE are the closest modern equivalents.

• Basic replacement (trisomies plus sex chromosomes): Unity from £490 or PrenatalSAFE from £540
• Closest SNP-based equivalent, available earliest (from 9 weeks): Panorama from £590
• Every option includes your ultrasound scan and a specialist review
• Advanced replacement (adds microdeletions): Extended Panorama £790 or PrenatalSAFE Complete Plus £1,490

Harmony (developed by Ariosa and later run under Roche) was, for around a decade, the go-to NIPT for many UK clinicians. It was valued for reliable screening of the three common trisomies and its London-based laboratory. In its later years, however, the test relied on ageing technology and had a relatively high failure ('no-call') rate, which contributed to its withdrawal. You can read the full background on our Harmony test page.

When you choose a modern alternative, these are the things that matter most:

Harmony was one of the first NIPTs offered widely in the UK, including in many NHS hospitals, and for years its name was almost a byword for NIPT. It was developed by Ariosa Diagnostics, later part of Roche, and TDL provided it in the UK from 2013 until it withdrew the test in September 2023.

We offered Harmony for many years, so our view comes from first-hand experience. As the test's equipment aged, more of the samples we sent to TDL came back with no result (a 'no-call') because of laboratory quality-control problems. We first raised this with TDL in 2021: every repeat blood test meant more waiting and more worry for parents.

That is why we started looking for better options long before Harmony was withdrawn. We were one of the first UK clinics to offer Invitae's advanced NIPT in 2021, and we review each laboratory's clinical performance data before we offer any test. TDL has since moved to Illumina VeriSeq technology, which we now offer as TDL VeriSeq V2.

One thing has not changed: NIPT screens only your baby's chromosomes. It cannot see structural (physical) anomalies, which make up around two-thirds of fetal abnormalities, so every NIPT we offer comes with an ultrasound scan.

The process is essentially the same as it was with Harmony: a simple maternal blood sample, taken after an ultrasound scan that confirms your dates and checks your baby. What changes is largely the turnaround time and the breadth of what can be screened.

Turnaround depends on the test you choose. UK-analysed tests such as PrenatalSAFE typically return results in around 2–4 working days, while Panorama is analysed in the United States and usually takes 7–10 working days. Our team will confirm timescales when you book.

Whichever test you choose, the essentials stay the same: an ultrasound scan is always included, your results are reviewed by a specialist, and any high-chance result is discussed with you and confirmed with a diagnostic test such as CVS or amniocentesis. If you would like to talk through your options first, we offer genetic counselling.