Gender Selection- Family Balancing

Many couples wish to experience the joy of having a boy and a girl. They might also desire a particular sex because they have genetic diseases in their family that are sex-linked (carried on the sex chromosome).  Sex linked diseases can only be transmitted to a child of a particular sex and include, hemophilia, Duchene’s, muscular dystrophy, Lesch Nyhan syndrome, and others.

There are several methods available to select sperm that will produce either a boy or a girl, however; these methods are only marginally successful. Our clinic has chosen to offer preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), as it is extremely reliable in selecting an embryo of known gender.

In an IVF cycle, an embryo biopsy is performed on the third day (eight cell stage). The biopsy does not damage the embryo or hinder further development.

The genetic material is amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which makes several identical copies of the DNA. Fluorescent probes that are specific to the X and Y chromosomes are then employed and XX  (female) and XY (male) embryos are readily identifiable. Testing for some chromosome abnormalities, such as Down’s Syndrome, is available as a part of this process at no extra charge.

On the fifth day the selected embryos (now blastocysts) are placed into the uterine cavity resulting in a very high rate of success with conception of a fetus of selected gender. 

PGD is the only means to virtually “guarantee” the conception of a particular sex. Some procedures, such as Microsort, offer limited success with X, Y sperm sorting techniques but they are experimental and not offered by our clinic.