Gender selection is made through the pair of gender chromosomes he receives – one from each parent. All eggs carry one X chromosome, while sperms carry an X or Y chromosome that determines the gender. When the egg is fertilized by an X-carrying sperm, the resulting embryo (XX) is female; If the fertilized sperm carries a Y chromosome, the resulting fetus (XY) is male.
What is gender selection?
Gender selection by IVF may be a fertility procedure to determine the gender of the child before conception. The gender is selected after the formation of the embryos or by sorting the sperm before fertilization of the eggs so that the eggs are fertilized with only male or female sperm. It’s the only scientifically proven way to guarantee your baby’s next gender.
What are the basics of gender selection?
The gender of the newborn is selected in conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF), and allows the decision to choose the gender of the fetus before conception, or before a viable embryo is transferred to the uterus for implantation.
Gender selection was initially developed to help families with a history of a specific genetic disease linked to a gender to reduce the risk of a young child having a similar disorder.
In most cases, gender-linked genetic diseases, such as hemophilia and congenital Duchenne disease, are transmitted through the Y chromosome, which means they usually occur in boys.
The most important techniques for choosing gender
Although different fertility clinics use various techniques to perform gender selection, here at Bedaya Hospital, we only use the methods that have the best accuracy rate, namely:
1. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), which primarily screens embryos for genetic defects before they are used in IVF, is able to detect the X chromosome and gender.
To perform gender selection by PGD, an embryologist uses a glass microneedleto carefully remove a single cell from each viable embryo created in the IVF process. A single-cell biopsy does not damage a developing fetus.
Then, after analyzing both the genetic material and thus the gender chromosomes of each fetus under a powerful microscope, high-quality embryos of the specified gender are transferred to the uterus for implantation.
2. Ericsson’s method for albumin filtration:
This advanced sperm sorting technology involves placing specially washed sperm cells on top of a solution layered with albumin, a type of protein that occurs naturally in semen. Albumin consists of increasingly dense layers, with the thickest layer on the underside.
Spinning in a highly sterilized centrifuge, Y-bearing sperm, which can be lighter, faster and less dense than X-bearing sperm, swim toward the thicker layer of albumin, while most X-bearing sperm remain within thin layers of the two albums.
The sperms of the selected gender are then selected from the corresponding albumin layer to be used for insemination.
What is the accuracy of Gender selection?
Because the gender chromosomes present in a fetus can be determined definitively, PGD has an accuracy rate of over 99%, making it the most accurate method for gender selection available today. This can be especially important for parents who want to choose gender to reduce their chances of having a child with a gender-related disease.
While Erickson’s method for sorting sperm from albumin is less complex and less expensive than PGD, this technique cannot create complete separation between X- and Y-bearing sperm, making them less accurate than PGD.
With a success rate of 80% when selecting for males and about 70% when selecting for females, Ericsson’s method is wholly imprecise.
Why choose the gender of your child?
Choosing the gender of your child can be a very personal decision. Some people prefer to have children because they feel that their family is incomplete without the male, they need a sibling accompanying his or her only child, or they need an heir to continue the title or inheritance. A number of the most common reasons are:
They already have a son/daughter, or two, or three.
Patients, who already have one child, or several children of the same gender, can choose the gender to balance the family or have the experience of having sons and daughters.
To further prevent genetic disease linked to the chromosome.