Our Mission

Project Heritage Mission

Our mission is to provide resources to help protect both the mother and the unborn child from undue harm that can be caused by natural concerns over birthing a child with special needs. We believe having the right information is critical when making sensitive decisions around pregnancy. We provide our services for free and support all of our clients, no matter what they decide.

Project Heritage | A Collaboration

Through Project Heritage, Special Angels Adoption collaborates with the Center for Genomic Interpretation to help mothers better understand the accuracies and possible inaccuracies of their fetal genetic test.

For expecting parent(s) who learn that their baby will have special needs, or may be born with special needs, Special Angels Adoption provides support. Special Angels Adoption also provides expecting parent(s) with the option to place their special needs baby with an experienced and loving adoptive family in situations where the birth parents feel unable to sufficiently care for a special needs child. This decision can be made even after birth.

Not all genetic tests are accurate

Every year, many thousands of pregnant women receive genetic testing to learn the sex of their unborn baby, and to determine if their unborn baby might have a genetic disease or syndrome. Infrequently, a genetic test result will indicate that a child will be, or may be born with a genetic disease or syndrome. Sometimes a different clinical test is then pursued by the clinician to check the accuracy of the initial genetics result. For example, some fetal abnormalities may be visible through ultrasound imaging. Other times clinicians use a different type of genetic test to double check the original genetic test result. However, whenever genetic testing or screening is used, there is a possibility for error in the results. Genetic tests are not perfect and most clinicians are not sufficiently trained in the most current genetic technologies to fully understand the limitations of modern genetic testing.

In 2018, a mother nearly aborted her long desired pregnancy because of a genetic test. But then she asked the lab for more information.

 

Even if a clinician understands the ins and outs of a genetic test, the ability of the clinician to accurately interpret your results depends on HOW and WHAT information is returned by the genetic testing company to the clinician. A figure in a 2019 Nature journal article showed that no laboratories offering non-invasive prenatal screening met industry standards for transparent reporting.

Center for Genomic Interpretation

The Center for Genomic Interpretation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to helping patients get accurate answers from their genetic testing, or to understand the scope of uncertainty around different types of genetic tests from different laboratories. Founded by genetic testing industry pioneers, the Center for Genomic Interpretation harnesses decades of combined industry experience to help stakeholders drive quality in clinical genetic and genomic testing. The Center for Genomic Interpretation assists Special Angels Adoption by providing their Medical Director with unbiased, third-party scientific consultations on fetal genetic test results.