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sure-fire baby sex selection
Baby sex selection methods are nothing new: people used to try to influence on conceiving a baby of a desired gender from ancient times. From the times of ancient Egypt and Greece, baby gender selection was based on unscientific methods, such as timed intercourse, position of intercourse and eating of certain food. Sometimes these baby gender selection methods worked, sometimes they did not.
Today, however, medical baby gender selection methods have reached a point where it is possible to guarantee the gender of your child with almost 100 % accuracy.
These scientific methods that determine the gender of your baby include various techniques with various success rates.
One of the sperm sorting methods is called Gradient method or Spin method.
It involves placing the sperm in a centrifuge where it is spun at high speed. Because the X chromosome (baby girl!) is heavier than Y chromosome (baby boy!) it tends to fall at the bottom of the test tube while the other, “boy chromosome” remains at the top. The chromosome that collected at the top is then inserted into the uterus via intra uterine insemination. This gives you a chance to have only a boy child.
This gender selection method is not as successful as some other gender selection methods (though some companies using gradient or spin method claim an 80 percent success rate, such results haven't been repeated), but it is simple and it carries not so hefty price tag.
One another sperm sorting method is Flow cytometry, better known under the brand name of MicroSort.
It involves using of a fluorescent dye that binds itself to the DNA material of the chromosome. Because the X chromosome is larger and has more DNA, it dyes deeper and, therefore, glows brighter under the illumination of a laser. An electrode then assigns a positive charge to those X chromosomes that glow brighter and a negative charge to those Y chromosomes that glow less brightly. The charged sperm are tugged by their charges into separate containers and couples can select one or the other for fertilizing the woman's egg.
Again, the Y chromosome is inserted into the uterus via intra uterine insemination or in vitro fertilization. The success rate for conceiving a boy is about 81%.
MicroSort was first used in clinical trials in 1993 and became available to all couples in 1996.
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis or Preimplantation Genetic Testing possess an even higher success rate: with this gender selection method, you have an incredible 99% chance of succeeding at conceiving the baby gender of your choice!
How this works? They take an egg (from a mother) and the sperm (from a father) and they study them in a laboratory to tell which gender their embryo is. When they determine the gender, embryo is implanted into the mother’s uterus. Even though this method comes with a hefty price tag - and it is a pretty invasive procedure – it’s popular because of its effectiveness and, since they actually do biopsy on embryo before it’s returned to uterus, you can be sure that embryo is healthy.
