Birth Defects

HC Deb 22 March 1995 vol 257 cc207-8W

Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what studies her Department has made of the side-effects of chorion villus sampling for Downs syndrome; and if she will take steps to ensure that all prospective parents are provided with information on the possibility of abnormalities resulting from the tests; [14455]

(2) how many CVS tests were provided under the NHS in each of the past five years and at what cost; and if she will list the manufacturers of these tests. [14457]

Mr. Sackville

The results of a major Government-funded Medical Research Council clinical trial conducted in a number of international centres and examining the use of chorion villus sampling were published in 1991 and the findings published inThe Lancet¹, copies of which are available in the Library. This also highlighted the possibility of a risk of limb reduction deformities associated with the procedure. Health professionals involved in conducting CVS would be aware of these findings and therefore in a position to advise parents of the potential risks involved, including that of miscarriage.

Information is not available centrally about the number or cost of the tests. The procedure involves tests undertaken usually in national health service laboratories, on placental tissue taken from the woman by CVS. There are therefore no manufacturers of these tests.

¹ Medical Research Council European Trial of Chorion Villus Sampling, The Lancet, vol 337: 1491–1499, 22 June 1991.

Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children with Downs syndrome were born in each of the past 10 years. [14456]

Mr. Sackville

This information is shown in the table.

Notification of babies born with Downs Syndrome in England and Wales, 1984–1993
Year	Numbers
1984	505
1985	442
1986	445
1987	459
1988	428
1989	487
1990	415
1991	440
1992	394
1993	311

Data were obtained from the national congenital malformation notification scheme. For the years given, the data were collected for live and stillbirths where the malformation was identified at or within 10 days of birth.