Prenatal diagnosis in Switzerland.

Switzerland, with a population of slightly over 7 million, has about 83,000 births per year. There is no comprehensive national registry for prenatal diagnosis (PND) or congenital malformations. Health care is largely organised within each of the 23 countries. Whereas ultrasound screening is available to all pregnant women, the availability of other types of PND is largely determined by proximity to the university medical centres or specialised clinics. Maternal biochemical serum screening is offered by some 15-20 laboratories, and cytogenetic analyses are performed in 8. DNA-based diagnosis is essentially limited to the medical genetics departments/divisions of the 5 university medical schools. It can be estimated that slightly over 10% of gestations are monitored by invasive prenatal diagnostic techniques. The greatest challenge for the future will be the training of the medical and paramedical personnel necessary for the current and future pre- and postnatal diagnostic testing.