Frequently Asked Questions
Are there any costs to participate in the study?
It is not expected that you will have any additional costs if you participate in this research study. Procedures that are done only for the study will not be billed to you or your insurance company. You or your insurance company may be billed for any standard medical care that would have been provided to you during this research study.
Will I be paid for participation?
Should you be eligible for the study, you may receive payment for your time to participate in the study.
How long is the commitment to the study?
For pregnant participants: Participation in this study will take approximately 4 hours (time to discuss eligibility and consent, donate a blood sample, and provide follow up medical data including a cheek swab from your newborn baby if needed). Participation would take place from the date you execute the study informed consent form (ICF) until you have invasive genetic testing or until approximately 2 months after the delivery of the pregnancy.
For reproductive partners: Participation in this study will take approximately 2 hours (time to discuss eligibility and consent and provide medical data, no blood sample is required).
How do I provide consent?
Research consent will be provided electronically, through an econsent system. A copy of your completed consent will be shared with you.
How will my personal health information be protected?
We respect patient privacy. When you share your information as part of prescreening for the EXPAND Study, you are sharing with members of the research team for the purposes of determining your eligibility to participate in the study. Only trained study staff will have access to your identifiable information for the purposes of contacting you and ensuring we keep in touch. After study consent, for the purposes of data storage and analysis, we will remove your identifying information and assign you a study number. More details will be provided in the study informed consent form. We are committed to the security of your information.
Can I withdraw from the study at any time?
Yes, participation in the EXPAND study is entirely voluntary.
What are the study procedures required for the study?
The only study procedures being performed are a blood draw and a newborn baby cheek swab if prenatal testing such as an amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) was not provided. We will also ask for a copy of specific medical records to gather relevant clinical information.
Will I receive the test results?
You will not receive test results from this study. The samples we collect from you are for research for the purposes of developing and validating the prenatal genetic screening test.