Gender Selection & Family Balancing

Gender Selection & Family Balancing

What is Gender Selection for Family Balancing?

Some families wish to choose the gender of their child. They may want to do so to ensure a balanced representation of the sexes, or for any other reason. Today, couples undergoing IVF can screen embryos to determine their sex, and transfer only those with the desired sex into the uterus for implantation. Family balancing uses pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS), a technology that tests the chromosomal makeup of an embryo. Embryos can be screened with nearly 100% accuracy, so if you are successful in becoming pregnant, you can plan for your child’s birth with complete confidence.

What is Gender Selection for Family Balancing?

Some families wish to choose the gender of their child. They may want to do so to ensure a balanced representation of the sexes, or for any other reason. Today, couples undergoing IVF can screen embryos to determine their sex, and transfer only those with the desired sex into the uterus for implantation. Family balancing uses pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS), a technology that tests the chromosomal makeup of an embryo. Embryos can be screened with nearly 100% accuracy, so if you are successful in becoming pregnant, you can plan for your child’s birth with complete confidence.

What Determines a Baby’s Gender?

Chromosomally normal babies get 22 chromosomes and a sex chromosome from each parent. Women only have X sex chromosomes, and so each of her eggs will have 22 chromosomes and an X sex chromosome. Men carry both an X and Y sex chromosome, and each individual sperm will carry 22 chromosomes and either an X or a Y sex chromosome. The distribution of X and Y sex chromosomes in each semen sample tends to be tilted slightly in favor of X, studies have found that 52% of sperm carry an X chromosome, while 48% carry a Y. Your baby’s gender is determined by the individual sperm that fertilizes the egg.

Benefits of Gender Selection

Patients typically consider gender selection for two reasons:

1. To screen for certain genetic disorders that are linked to sex, for example hemophilia or muscular dystrophy. If one parent is a genetic carrier for sex-linked disorder, his or her male offspring are likely to suffer from the disorder while female offspring are likely to be genetic carriers. Genetic carriers have a recessive trait that does not result in any symptoms of the disease. Genetic carriers live normal, healthy lives, but may pass on their recessive genetic disorder to their own children.
2. To balance their family with a child of the opposite sex.

Methods of Gender Selection