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How Does Gender Selection Work?

Some hopeful parents are surprised to learn that gender selection is a possibility when undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Gender selection occurs quite frequently at fertility clinics across the United States. The ability to discern the gender of an embryo is possible when we perform pre-implantation genetic screenings and diagnoses.

During your consultation at our San Antonio, TX, fertility clinic, one of our doctors will explain the benefits and potential costs of undergoing gender selection as part of your infertility treatment. For more than 30 years, hopeful parents have trusted the Fertility Center of San Antonio to guide them through infertility treatments with compassion and care.

Depending upon your needs, our team can administer several tests to determine the source of infertility and plan treatment accordingly.

Preimplantation testing can reveal many characteristics of an embryo, including gender.

How Does Gender Selection Work?

Gender selection is not automatically included in an IVF treatment. The advanced screening procedure is considered an optional extra step. The genetic screening can be usually be completed once a batch of embryos is five days old. Gender selection results from genetic information that is gathered from the embryos. During the screening, a few cells are removed from the embryos and a complete chromosomal analysis is performed. Once the embryos’ genders are established, the hopeful parent or parents can choose the embryos they wish to use for implantation.

Once the embryos’ genders are established, the hopeful parent or parents can choose the embryos they wish to use for implantation.

Benefits of Gender Selection

There are many benefits to having genetic screening performed at our San Antonio fertility clinic:

  • Greater control over family planning: Gender selection takes part of the guesswork out of family planning. Each family has unique goals, and gender selection allows those individuals to pursue those goals in a predictable manner. If a family wishes to have one boy and one girl, for example, they will be able to reach their goals through IVF when it is paired with gender selection.
  • Peace of mind: Certain medical conditions are genetic or gender-specific. These testing methods also screen for a wide range of genetic disorders that can give hopeful parents peace of mind.
  • Better ability to plan for clothes and supplies: Parents who know that they have a boy or girl on the way can plan accordingly when buying supplies or holding onto clothes from older siblings.
  • The ability to cope with grief: Parents who have lost a child can gain a semblance of solace by knowing that their new child will have the same gender.

What Are the Ethical Implications of Genetic Selection?

Patients should understand that they will not be able to undergo IVF solely for the purpose of choosing the gender of their baby. Our doctors’ goal is to deliver healthy babies, not babies of a specific gender. Patients who undergo this infertility treatment must demonstrate an inability to conceive a child naturally. Gender selection is an added benefit of genetic screening that our San Antonio practice gladly offers our patients. The decision to consider gender when choosing an embryo is a highly personal one. We respect each parent’s right to consider gender when deciding which direction to take at that stage of the IVF treatment process.

Contact Our Office Today

If you have concerns about the affordability of any of our treatments, our office offers financing options through Prosper Healthcare Lending and Lending Club Patient Solutions. Gender selection is more common than many individuals think. If you are in need of a trusted fertility clinic to help you grow your family, our expert staff and doctors are just a call away. To schedule your consultation, please contact our office online or call (210) 361-8973.