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Baby Gender Selection

Sex selection, can be a valuable and exciting tool. For clinical purposes, this process is crucial when certain hereditary gender-specific traits are an issue. For example, hemophilia has been shown as a predominantly male trait. If this disease runs in a family, sex selection can be performed so that a healthy female is conceived, rather than a male who would likely have hemophilia. This is also a beneficial tool for families from cultures that only embrace certain genders. Currently there are three available procedures used to increase the likeliness of a certain sex.

Ericsson Method

The ‘Ericsson Method”, is the most simple and non-invasive practice used to select gender. This application is used when X and Y sperm are separated through filtering processes. The fraction of sperm that contain the male (Y) bearing sperm are used for insemination if a boy is desired. It is effective 70-75% of the time. The fraction of sperm that contain the female (X) bearing sperm are used for insemination if a girl is desired. It is effective 70-72% of the time. Additionally, it does not have to be used in combination with In-Vitro Fertilization In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF)) making it easy and accessible. We use this procedure at our office applied through intrauterine insemination (IUI)and the cost is around $200.

Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis

The most successful method for gender selection is Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD).PGD is only available when used in conjunction with IVF, making the total process quite more expensive. The price for the PGD alone can be anywhere from $2,000-$8,000. This application is different from the other two methods because it involves using an embryo, not just sperm.PGD is a form of genetic assessment that is performed on each embryo prior to implantation.The embryo that contains the make-up (in this case, gender) desired is then selected for transfer back into the uterus. For this reason it is also most accurate, touting an accuracy rate of 99%.

Depending on the importance of the outcome, we may suggest any of these three methods. For parents who prefer one gender, but aren’t going to be devastated or disadvantaged if it doesn’t work out, the Erickson method is an affordable and easy procedure that increases chances of having one gender by an average of 15%. For families that have an essential need for a specific gender, the advanced PGD should be used because it is almost 100% accurate. At Brown Fertility we have access to all of these procedures. If you have questions or you are interested in more information, please call 904-260-0352.