Just can't stand the thought of having another daughter, or even a first one? People in Europe and the Middle East who can rationalize they want to "balance" their family or minimize the risk of certain genetic diseases have a new option: MicroSort preconception sex selection technology is now available in Cyprus at North Cyprus IVF Clinic - one of only three countries in the world where you can openly and legally get sperm sorting.
Studies claim using MicroSort to have a girl resulted in a 93% chance of conceiving a female baby (if they got pregnant); for those sorting for a boy, approximately 85% of those who became pregnant were successful in conceiving a male baby. Patients who want even greater certainty sperm selection with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and are able to achieve almost 100% certainty in sex selection, they say.
Developed in the US by the Genetics&IVF Institute of Fairfax, VA, MicroSort separates sperm either into those that primarily produce girls or those that primarily produce boys by sorting sperm based on the difference in the amount of genetic material in X- and Y-bearing sperm. Chromosomes that produce girls (X chromosome) have slightly more DNA than Y chromosomes and, therefore, are slightly larger than Y-bearing sperm. . Sorted sperm is used either for intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF).
MicroSort is officially available for two uses; 'family balancing' and preventing sex-linked and sex-limited genetic diseases. For family balancing, couples must already have at least one child and the technology can then be used to attempt to balance the family by having a child of the opposite gender or of the underrepresented gender in their family. Couples will be asked to provide a birth certificate for each child already in their family. For families without birth certificates, they can show a family history of one of more than 500 sex linked or sex limited genetic diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Think it's wrong not to have this 'choice'? It's a tricky policy issue. Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom prohibit 'social' sex selection yet claim that is not affecting abortion rights while the US basically allows anything at this point.
