Is Gender Selection 100% Accurate?

Today it is possible to choose the sex of a baby but is gender selection 100% accurate? By utilizing techniques which involve IVF it is 99.9%. All other methods to sway the gender have not been found to be helpful. At FCNE, we have been offering this service for a few years with very high success rates. Couples who have had one or more children of one sex are able to choose the opposite sex of their next baby.

Women undergo IVF with an egg retrieval and fertilization with the male partners sperm. The embryos grow and divide for 3 days. Then a single cell is removed and sent for chromosome analysis. Embryos of the chosen sex are transferred into the uterus 2 days later. At FCNE, we use a technique called aCGH which gives us a full chromosome analysis. This ensures that an embryo with a full compliment of chromosomes of the proper sex is transferred into the patient.

Patients always wonder if they’ve already had 2-3 children of one sex if its still possible to have a child of the opposite sex.We recently analyzed the last 23 patients who underwent sex selection. Nearly all couples had an embryo of the proper sex transferred into the uterus. Only 3 of the 23 couples did not have an embryo of the proper sex in women of all ages, 80% of the transfers resulted in the implantation of at least one embryo with a 50% ongoing pregnancy rate.

Another surprising fact that we have seen is the choice of the sex that is preferred. When we started offering this service I assumed that most couples would come in preferring a boy. This is the pattern in most countries in the world. However, in our patients,among Caucasian couples , over 90% of couples desire a female child. Why is that? Well, in the US, women who generally have the last say in family matters, want to have a daughter. Hence, the woman arrives and desires a girl. This has been seen throughout the U.S. with 3 out of 4 couples desiring a girl.

For more information on gender selection, click here. Additional resources can be found here.