Overview

Cordocentesis — also known as percutaneous umbilical blood sampling — is a diagnostic prenatal test in which a sample of the baby's blood is removed from the umbilical cord for testing.

Cordocentesis, which is usually done after week 18 of pregnancy, can be used to detect certain genetic disorders, blood conditions and infections. Cordocentesis can also be used to deliver blood and medication to a baby through the umbilical cord.

Use of cordocentesis is becoming rare because diagnostic procedures such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, which pose a lower risk of fetal death, can be used instead for prenatal diagnosis of disease. Cordocentesis is most often done to test for anemia in the baby.