Abstracts of “Institute for Research and Medical Consultations (IRMC) - Summer Research Program - 2023” presented at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on August 28, 2023

Background: Fetal nucleated red blood cells (fNRBCs) are cells of fetal origin and are present in maternal peripheral blood during pregnancy. fNRBCs have distinctive morphological features as they have a diameter of 9 to 13 µ m, an intact and dense nucleus and a low nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio. Researchers proposed the use of fNRBCs as a non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) alternative to invasive procedures such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. The full genome of the fetus is encapsulated within fNRBCs, enabling the detection of genetic variations. However, the primary challenge lies in the scarcity of the fNRBCs, and limited number of biomarkers that differ from the maternal cells. Objective: The study aims to use live cell imaging to identify fNRBC’s unique characteristics in the maternal blood during pregnancy. Methods: The samples from pregnant mothers at full term were collected in EDTA vacutainers from the obstetrics and gynecology clinics at KFUH. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. The double-density