There are many genetically inherited diseases which can affect babies if both of their parents are carriers of the gene fault. For instance, for males there is hemophilia, a blood clotting disorder that usually affects only boys, and X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency, which is a lack of T cells in the immune system, causing it to leave the person open to infections. This condition affects only boys and if it is left untreated, most baby boys will die in less than one year from related infections or even the common cold.
Some couples have not known they are carriers of an illness until their baby is stillborn or dies of a genetic disability. Their options are to adopt or seek medical gender selection.
What Is Medical Gender Selection?
This is when the prospective parents actively choose the sex of their child via an IVF procedure. This can be done in two different ways.
- Sperm Selection - a sample of sperm is collected and the XX (girl) and XY (boy) sperm are identified. Then only the gender of the parents' choice would be used to fertilize the egg.
- Embryo Selection - eggs are fertilized invitro in a standard IVF cycle and then each embryo has one cell removed to see if it is male or female. Only the selected gender embryos would then be transferred to the mother's womb.
If the fertility expert is using the sperm selection method, there are a variety of ways in which he can assist conception, such as artificial insemination, also known as inter-uterine insemination (IUI). This is a simple technique and merely involves injecting sperm into the uterus via a fine catheter and waiting for the conception to occur in the natural way.
He could also use invitro fertilization (IVF), where the woman's ovaries are stimulated to produce more eggs with the aid of fertility drugs. These are then removed by a minor surgical procedure called egg retrieval, and placed in a Petri dish with her partner's sperm in order to fertilize. Any embryos of good enough quality would then be transferred to the womb. This treatment option could be used if the couple had fertility problems in addition to the risk of genetically inherited illness.
Finally, he could use the intracytoplasmic sperm injection method, where a single sperm is injected directly into the egg. This could be useful if there are relatively few sperm in the couple's chosen gender.
How Do I Get Treatment?
If you have a known inherited disease within the family or previous children who have been diagnosed with inherited conditions, please speak to your doctor. He or she can refer you to a specialist fertility clinic who may be able to help you.
Can I Choose The Sex Of My Baby For Non-Medical Reasons?
In the US there are some private clinics that will perform elective gender selection. In the UK it is against the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority guidelines so you can only have gender selection for medical reasons.
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