Gender Selection
And now for the ultimate in influencing the gender of your baby…gender selection. This procedure was originally developed to screen embryos for genetic (often fatal) diseases during invitro fertilization. However, the procedure is being used more and more by couples who want to actually choose the sex of their baby.
The procedure is called PGD, or pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, and is increasing in popularity due to its ability to give patients their choice of whether they will have a girl or a boy. In order to test for gender, even healthy couples must undergo IVF, with an extra step. Any couple interested in this procedure would be required to go through the IVF protocol: full lab work ups on both partners, hormone treatments, shots, weekly visits to the fertility clinic, ultrasounds to determine follicle development, egg retrieval, fertilization in the lab, growth of the embryos, embryo selection and implantation. However, with PGD, on day three of the embryo development, one single cell is removed from each embryo, and examined. The cell carries the information whether the embryo is a boy or a girl. Then, on the implantation day, only the embryos that are the desired sex are surgically implanted in the mother’s uterus.
There is no guarantee that the IVF cycle with the gender selected embryos will result in a successful pregnancy. The success rate is no greater with this procedure than with any other, or with natural conception. And the average price tag for a single IVF/PGD cycle is about $20,000.
Most fertility clinics will not allow gender selection during the IVF treatment, but there is one clinic, called The Fertility Institutes, that actually promotes this procedure as one of their selling points: they even use the term “Family Balancing” to make it sound less controversial. They boast a 100% accuracy in gender selection, and have been featured on the television news program 60 Minutes.
See this link to watch the segment
www.fertility-docs.com/fertility_gender.phtml?PHPSESSID=d07f5122875133ac07cca45fbf859690
Then click on the “View the 60 minutes news program” link on their front page.
One of the doctors who pioneered this procedure, Dr. Mark Hughes, is quite disturbed by the use of this testing for gender selection. He says he invented this testing to help diagnose deadly diseases in embryos prior to implantation to rid the IVF process of implanting genetically doomed embryos. He does not agree with using it for gender selection only. In most countries, testing embryos for gender selection is illegal.
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thank you for catching that kaja2008!
By Lee October 8, 2008 4:44pm
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PGD = preimplantation genetic diagnosis not gender diagnosis
By kaja2008 October 7, 2008 4:16pm
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Dear mynameisjorgeregula,
Just to clear up any confusion:
gen·der n
1. the sex of a person or organism, or of a whole category of people or organisms (often used euphemistically to avoid the word “sex”)
Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
By Lee September 30, 2008 12:08pm
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I have heard of this topic on one of the well known programs that come on in the evening. We know that knowledge is power,equals opportunity and opportunity equals success!! Unfortunately people like to play Russian Rulet or God with human nature!! They showed the couple had a child with a deadly genetic disease in infants and the procedjure saved the life of the child. It is not successful for those have a gender preference: because it was not ment for birth control!! When it no longer works any more: maybe, they will stop trying. We need more healthy normal and functional men not clones lowns, less orphans and less abortions. Oh yes and a lower rate of irrsponsible human beings!! I do not mean to get slightly off topic: but, people want to control what gender a child should be and they can not control them selves. Of course you can not prevent certain things in life:: but, not is know excuse!! If we can control life to that extent than we can control death!! Thank you for posting this blog..xtention
By KindredSpirit September 29, 2008 1:40pm
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Until you walk in the shoes of someone who has several children of the one gender you shouldnt judge.
Many, many people suffer from gender disappointment but suffer in silence because we are put down for how we feel.
When gender selection is done for family balancing reasons it is a very equal amount of boys and girls wanted - no sex ratio imbalance.
30 years ago people had a similar shock reaction to testtube babies (IVF) now it is perfectly acceptable perhaps even the norm.
It's not about not wanting another boy or girl (because they WOULD be deeply loved), it's just about wanting to experience the joy of raising both a son and daughter. What is wrong with that?
By justthinkaboutit September 29, 2008 8:31am
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this is scarey junk right here!
By SunflowerRose September 26, 2008 8:56pm
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well first of all its not choosing the gender
its choosing the sex
there's a difference and its pretty sad that the people who made that advertisment didn't understand that
By mynameisjorgeregula September 26, 2008 3:58pm
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Not OK. It's playing God.
By miasansom September 26, 2008 5:43am
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Gender selection is retarded. I mean, you can want a little girl, but you shouldn't be disappointed if you get a boy. It's still your kid, and you should love them!
Choosing the gender is like, screwing with nature.
By GiselleSylphide September 25, 2008 9:50pm
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It is crazy! Next step is going to be the color of the baby eyes, hair, how tall he or she will and so on.......
The perfect way to create the "perfect race"!
History might repeat itself..........
By mathilde September 25, 2008 8:16pm
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Heck, I'm conservative, and I think it's insane.
By Lappy9000 September 25, 2008 4:08pm
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I'm sorry, I am liberal, and I think its insane. I think that situations like this is why genetic engineering gets its controversy from. I think more research should be put into genetics to diagnose and cure autism, diabetes, and MS.
"Family balancing" could evetnually manifest into "Family Gene Options" if you understand what I mean. I am all for fertility treatment, as I have undergone my own, but I think this is pushing the moral envelope, and as I said, I AM liberal.
By JessicaMSH September 25, 2008 1:50pm