Home testing kits now available in UK

Home testing kits developed by Biocard are now available to buy over the web and will soon be available over the counter. The test measures IgA tissue transglutaminase (TTG) antibodies and has been shown to be as accurate as the blood test performed by GPs.

While Coeliac UK welcomes a new tool that could potentially help more people get diagnosed, we stress that the blood tests for coeliac disease are not 100% accurate. For the blood test for coeliac disease to work, the patient must be eating a normal gluten-containing diet. In addition, it is possible that despite a normal diet, some people can get a negative blood result, yet still have coeliac disease.

In line with the British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines for the management of patients with coeliac disease, a small intestinal biopsy remains mandatory to confirm the diagnosis of coeliac disease.

The self-testing kits do not substitute an official diagnosis by a medical professional, and we currently would not accept someone as a member of Coeliac UK who has self diagnosed in this test alone. We recommend that anyone who thinks they may have coeliac disease, or has a positive self-test result, go and see their GP.

The Biocard Coeliac Test can be purchased from www.coeliactest.co.uk for £19.99.

To view the full Coeliac UK statement on home testing kits please click here.