New Down Syndrome Test Could Cut Healthy Baby Deaths

"Within a year, you are going to be able to buy this off the shelf, way cheaper," said Dr. Laird G Jackson, a geneticist and obstetrician at Drexel University College of Medicine. "What you have here is a wedge opening so what this is demonstrating here is that it could [be available] relatively soon and for a reasonable price."

Down Syndrome Test Watch Video

A New Test for Down Syndrome? Watch Video

Married With Down Syndrome Watch Video

Expectant mothers are also excited, even though it might mean just one more test to get worked up about.

"If I had the opportunity to take a blood test instead of amniocentesis, I would take the blood test hands down," said Amy Ball, 45, who is 20 weeks pregnant with her first child.

Fortunately, as a high-risk mother, she has passed all the initial genetic screening -- blood tests, ultrasounds and even an "organ inventory" - with no problems. She was offered CVS but declined.

"You get poked a million times anyway when you are pregnant," said the marketing manager from Sebastapol, Calif. "Another blood test is no big deal. But a needle going in the amniotic sac and potentially harming the baby is scary, particularly at an older age. You are a little more paranoid."