For families who have been blessed with one or more children of a particular gender and would like to be assured that their next pregnancy result in a child of the opposite sex, there is hope.

One of the added benefits of Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) with FISH (Fluorescent in situ hybridisation) is sex selection for family balancing. Offered to patients who meet strict qualifying criteria, it involves undergoing an in vitro fertilization procedure thru ART, removing a cell on day three of embryo development (at the six to eight cell stage), and analyzing the nucleus of that cell for the following eight chromosomes:  13, 15, 16, 18, 21, X and Y. Only embryos which achieved the appropriate stage of development by day 5 or day 6 and carrying the desired sex chromosome would be transferred.  Accuracy in diagnosis of the gender of the embryo is > 95%.

MicroSort is a procedure which may be used in conjunction with PGD for family balancing.  This technology allows the sample to be “enriched” with the desired X or Y bearing sperm.  By using an enriched sperm sample during insemination of the ova, the number of embryos carrying the desired sex may be increased.