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Clara Spot: At-Home hCG Testing, Explained
What Clara Spot is
Clara Spot is an at-home blood collection and testing service for monitoring hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), the pregnancy hormone, without a trip to a lab or a blood draw. It is a diagnostic test, not a medication: there is nothing to take, and no dose, drug interaction or contraindication to worry about.
Who it is for
hCG monitoring is most often used in two situations:
- Confirming that hCG levels are falling as expected after a pregnancy loss or a medication abortion.
- Following hCG levels over time in early pregnancy.
Clara Spot is meant to be used alongside your prescriber or care team, who decide when to test and what the results mean for you.
How it works
- Collect. Use the fingerstick kit to collect one or two small blood samples at home, following the schedule your prescriber or care team gave you.
- Send. Mail the samples to the laboratory. It is CAP-accredited and CLIA-certified; testing is contracted through GenBioPro, Inc., and the service is operated by Simple HealthKit, Inc.
- Get results. The lab runs a quantitative hCG test and results usually come back within a few business days.
- Review. Go over the numbers with your prescriber or care team.
Understanding your results
A single hCG number is hard to interpret on its own. What matters most is the trend across repeat samples, and normal patterns differ from person to person and situation to situation. Please do not try to read a result in isolation; your prescriber or care team can put it in context.
Comfort and safety
The only expected discomfort is brief soreness or bruising where the finger is pricked, the same as any fingerstick blood test.
Do not rely on a test result alone if you have symptoms. Contact your healthcare provider promptly if you have heavy bleeding, fever or severe pain.