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Carrier screening is a type of test that checks whether you are carrying specific gene variants in your DNA that could cause genetic conditions in your children.

If both you and your partner are carriers of the same gene variant, there is an increased chance of your children inheriting the condition. However, it does not guarantee that they will inherit the condition.

Taking a carrier screening test allows women and couples to make informed reproductive choices. It can help you by understanding your chance of having a child with an inherited genetic condition.

Lumi has a range of carrier screening products available, which test for a different number of genes and conditions.

Our Standard Carrier Screening test covers 3 genes and 3 of the more common inherited conditions: cystic fibrosis (CF), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and fragile X syndrome.

This test is for individual biological females and is done using a simple cheek swab. You'll learn whether you are a carrier for the 3 conditions above. If you are a carrier, your reproductive partner should also be tested so you can understand your combined chance of passing on conditions to your children.

We also offer Extended Carrier Screening and Comprehensive Carrier Screening testing options. Comprehensive screening covers more than 1,240 genes, including the 3 from Standard screening.

These tests are for couples and will include 2 swabs. You will learn about your chance as a couple of having children with any of the conditions screened for. If you change partners in the future, you may need to re-test.

The cost of carrier screening with Lumi depends on the type of screening you choose and your Medicare eligibility. We offer bulk-billed testing for eligible Medicare customers.

The Standard Carrier Screening test costs has no out-of-pocket cost ($0.00) for all Australians eligible for Medicare. Without Medicare, the cost is $360.00.

The Extended Carrier Screening test costs $880.00 for Medicare-eligible individuals, or $1,240.00 for those without Medicare.

Comprehensive Carrier Screening test costs $990.00 for Medicare-eligible individuals, or $1,350.00 for those without Medicare.

Leading colleges for women's health practitioners in both Australia and globally recommend that “all women and couples planning pregnancy should be offered screening for genetic conditions” regardless of ethnicity or family history [1].

Screening is relevant to anyone planning a pregnancy or currently pregnant. However, choosing to have carrier screening is a personal choice for you and/or your partner. Even if you've had children previously and haven't been tested yet, testing is still worthwhile.

You don't need to have a family history to be a carrier, in fact most carriers have no family history of the condition.

Carrier screening is ideally done before you get pregnant. This gives you the most reproductive options and allows you to make the most well-informed decisions about your family planning.

However, screening can be done within the first 8 weeks of pregnancy. If you and your partner are found to be carriers of the same condition, you can choose to test your pregnancy.

Simply order a test online on our site and we will send a kit directly to you. All our tests only involve a simple cheek swab that can be done in the privacy, comfort, and safety of your own home.

The cheek swab only takes a minute to complete. There are no blood tests, needles, or saliva tests.

Screening done on a cheek swab is just as accurate as screening on blood samples. Doing your screening by a cheek swab is convenient as it is pain free and can be returned by post to the testing laboratory.

Once you've followed the instructions included in your kit, you can send your sample back to our lab using the reply-paid envelope included in your kit. Our lab will run your sample once it arrives back at our lab.

Once our lab receives your sample (and your partner's sample if you've bought a couples' test), it can take up to 3 weeks (Standard Carrier Screening) or 6–8 weeks (Extended, Comprehensive Carrier Screening) for your results to be ready from when our lab receives your sample(s).

The exact time to get your results can vary depending on how long it takes for your kit to arrive via post or for your sample to be returned to our lab.

When planning a pregnancy, taking a carrier screening test as a couple provides you with more clinically relevant information than a single's test alone, making your results simpler and easier to understand. It is often also more cost-effective than taking multiple individual tests.

We are focused on providing reports that are the most clinically relevant to the reproductive couple being screened. Our couple-based reporting best supports healthcare providers in their patient management and reduces the need to explain non-relevant genetic information.

Over 80% of individuals are healthy carriers of at least one of the conditions in our extended and comprehensive tests. We do not report individual carrier status where it is not relevant to the health context of the couple being screened.

Your privacy is very important to us – we believe your genetic data belongs to you. All your screening results are private and confidential – only you will have access. All your personal information is stored on highly secure, encrypted servers.

In case new evidence becomes available or re-testing is required, your sample is securely stored in our vault after analysis. However, after testing is completed, you can request to have your sample securely disposed of by our lab staff.

We never share your information with third parties without your consent. For more information, check out our Privacy Policy.

Genetic test results do not need to be disclosed in relation to health insurance. However, life insurance requires an assessment of individual risk and results may need to be disclosed. There is currently a moratorium (a freeze) in place (until 30th June 2024) that limits the use of genetic test results for new life insurance policies worth up to $500,000.

Above $500,000 – the insurance company can ask for genetic test results but can only use them if relevant to the cover you’re applying for.

No. You can organise testing directly through Lumi at any time without prior referral from a doctor or GP.

After ordering, you will be able to discuss any questions you have with one of Lumi's qualified practitioners. You will also have the opportunity to speak with a genetic counsellor about your results before your report is released.