GenderDNA Blood Test | The Scan Clinic

Having a baby is one of the most memorable times of your life and can be one of the most hectic to prepare for. Knowing if you’re having a boy or girl early can help you plan ahead and encourage bonding between mother and baby.

This is why we have partnered with SneakPeek a leading and well established genetic laboratory based in the USA to offer their SneakPeek blood test, giving you the best possibility to determine your babies gender from 7+ weeks gestation. As SneakPeek labs are based in the USA, we are able to help collect blood sample for you to send to SneakPeek.

What is the main objective of the SneakPeek blood test?

To determine fetal sex / gender based on genetic information in the mothers blood.

This is not a screening test for abnormalities.

This test cannot confirm if there is a pregnancy or not.

How is the SneakPeek test performed?

The process is very straightforward and follows the steps outlined below.

You must be at least 7 weeks pregnant with a positive pregnancy test - please contact our customer care team (links below) to book in for the test.
The blood sample is taken using the SneakPeek sample kit - The blood test is just like a routine blood test. You will be asked to uncover your left or right arm and suitable vein is found. A tourniquet will be placed and tightened around your upper arm allowing the veins to swell and a needle will be placed into your vein. A small quantity of blood is then drawn into tubes. Once the procedure is complete a small plaster will be placed onto the site which can be removed after a few hours.
The sample kit will be packaged together for you and placed in a Royal Mail - Tracked (postage paid,) sealed envelope. You will need to take this to your local post office who will be send this to SneakPeek labs in the USA. (Note: keep hold of the receipt from the post office as this will contain tracking information).

What if I have any questions or concerns with the SneakPeek test?

Common test related questions can be answered on the sneakpeek FAQ page, link for this can be found by clicking here. However for anything further please contact SneakPeek directly by clicking here.

Important Note:

As we are only taking the blood sample for the test, we are not involveded in any of the testing or results and cannot help in the interpretation of the results or with any questions or concerns relating to the results. Any such concerns need to be addressed with SneakPeek directly - details with links are above.

How does the SneakPeek test work?

Every pregnant mother to be will have her own DNA in her bloodstream as well as the DNA of your unborn baby. Your babies DNA is found in your blood in the form of short fragments circulating around called cell-free DNA fragments (cfDNA) and this test can analyse this cfDNA to determine the sex of your baby.

The way this is done is first we need to understand how biological sex is determined in men and women. We all have a pair of sex chromosomes present in each cell in our bodies. Men carry one X chromosome and one Y chromosome; whereas Women have two X chromosomes. When analysing your babies cfDNA for the Gender Test, the goal is to detect the presence of the male – Y Chromosomes. If the male - Y chromosome is detected, this would indicate that your baby is likely to be Male. If no Y Chromosome is present, this would indicate the baby is likely to be Female.

How accurate is the SneakPeek test?

Our laboratory partner have performed a large clinical study of 1,029 pregnant women (link below) and this has shown the accuracy of the test as 99.9% accurate at 7 weeks into pregnancy.

How do I Prepare for this Test?

No specific preparation is required for the blood test however you must be at least 7 weeks pregnant.

How and When will I get my results?

The results of your test will be emailed to you within 7-10 working days after the day you you’re your blood sample taken directly from sneakpeek

I am having twins – Can I still do the SneakPeek Test?

Yes, you can have the sneakpeek test for twins however the test cannot determine if you are having identical or non-identical (fraternal) twins.

The reason this is important is If you are having identical twins (i.e. both babies are boys or girls) then the result of the test (i.e. boy or girl) will apply to both babies.

However if you are having non-identical twins (i.e. one boy and one girl) then the test cannot determine the sex of each baby and so if the male chromosome is detected then this means that at least one of the babies is a boy and the second baby could be a boy or a girl.

If you are really keen to know then it may be worthwhile have one of our ultrasound scans to assess the sex of each baby.

I’ve had a boy before. Will that affect the accuracy of my results?

No, this won’t be a problem. Clinical studies show that your babies DNA clears out of the mother’s bloodstream within 2 days of birth.

How to find us?

Please click here.

Please click icon above to go to the pregnancy services page to see our selection of scans and other services.

Please note

The test requires you to be at least 7 weeks into the pregnancy to generate a results. If the test concludes you are under 7 weeks a result can not be generated and a redraw of your blood will be required charged at £15 per redraw. If you are uncertain of your dates or want to confirm how far along we suggest you book our early pregnancy scan.
There is small probability that SneakPeek are not able to get a valid result from the sample taken, this is normal and can occur with any type of laboratory testing. As SneakPeek is a non-medical and non-diagnostic test you can be assured this does not relate to the health and development of your baby. In situations where you receive an inconclusive result then we can perform another sneakpeek test with only a £15 redraw / phlebotomy charge to pay.
This test will not diagnose, prevent, or treat any condition, disease or used to ascertain the state of your health or the health of the pregnancy and that you understand that the services and information provided by the test are intended for research, informational, and educational purposes only and not medical advice.
Please click here to access the clinical study performed by the laboratory partner.
Our pregnancy scan/ services do not replace or substitute any service/scan you have or will have with the NHS / maternity care provider.

SneakPeek Blood Test

SneakPeek