Many couples, for various reasons and beliefs, wish to select the sex of their next child.  Amazingly, scientific advances allow gender selection of future children to be done with near 100% accuracy. But what exactly is it going to take to choose the sex of your next child and what exactly does gender selection cost?

Fast Facts About Gender and Sex Selection

  • Gender selection is also widely known as sex selection with the two terms being used exchangeable. It may also be referred to as family balancing as some people choose to do it to have a child of a specific sex after having many children of the other.
  • There are two main methods of gender selection though only one is widely accepted and used by reproductive medical community today. There are other alternative theories involving diet and other modalities, though these have no scientific backing and should not be taken seriously until proven so.
  • Sex selection is possible because males and females have different sex chromosome combinations. Females have an XX chromosome pair and males have an XY chromosome. Being able to selectively choose sperm that contain a desired X or Y chromosome or embryos containing either XX or XY chromosome pairs enables one to choose the sex of their child.
  • Gender selection is not a standalone service. The preferred method of sex selection involves In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in conjunction with Preimplantation Genetic Testing (embryonic testing – also known as PGS or PGD).

How Does Gender Selection Work?

The sex or gender of the baby is determined by two chromosomes known collectively as the Sex Chromosomes.  Egg cells from the female always carry an X chromosome while male sperm carries either an X or a Y chromosome. If a sperm with an X chromosome meets the mother’s egg, then the resulting embryo and baby will be a girl with an XX chromosome. If a sperm with a Y chromosome fertilizes the woman’s egg cell, then the resulting child will be a boy with an XY chromosome.

As you likely already know, there is a pretty much even 50/50 split between boys and girls conceived naturally. Thus in order to confidently determine the sex of your future child, you must be able to accurately select a sperm that contains a Y Chromosome or an embryo that has an XY chromosomes.

Sperm Sorting Method – Gender Selection with Artificial Insemination: Not Accurate and Not Widely Practiced in the USA

Sperm sorting is a method of sorting sperm based on fact that X chromosomes contain slightly more DNA than Y chromosomes. Some methods sort the sperm with a centrifuge while others tag the DNA with a fluorescent dye. In theory the sperm containing X chromosomes will sort by density and end up towards the bottom when being centrifuged and will shine more brightly when using the fluorescent dye method.

In theory this method could be used for both IUI or IVF.