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FM 100's Jill Atwood ReportingIt's technology that won't be mainstream anytime soon, but it is available, and to some it's very controversial. We're talking about choosing the sex of your unborn child. There is usually more to the story than just family balancing.
X means girl, Y means boy. For couples conceiving naturally, it's a toss up, a 50/50 chance of either a girl or a boy, unless you use technology. There are two scientific methods to choosing the sex of your baby. The first is sorting the sperm before artificial insemination. The other is invitro-fertilization and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, which involves a biopsy of the embryo.
Dr. Keith Blauer, Reproductive Care Center: "This is very important for patients who have genetic diseases that are X-linked, so it's the only the males that are affected. So by helping them have a daughter, the child would not be affected with MD or other some of the very severe diseases."
Dr. Keith Blauer, Reproductive Care Center: "I think it's a little more controversial when we start talking about family balancing for a couple who has five boys and wants a girl. It is acceptable to use tech when they have been appropriately counseled, but it is a controversial area, and also expensive."
In total, expect to pay 15 to 20 thousand dollars for your chosen sex, but for some couples it may mean the difference between having a child or not.
Dr. Keith Blauer: "I remember one from Ogden couple, I mean they had decided not to have children until they found out about the tech that allowed them have a high probability to have a child that was not affected."
In fact, Dr. Blauer says most of his cases here in Utah, at least so far, have been motivated by genetic disease prevention.
