The technologies to accurately determine the sex of a baby were refined fairly recently. The sex chromosome make up of the sperm that fertilizes the egg determines the sex of the resulting embryo.

MicroSort® is patented technology which uses a special stain and a procedure called flow cytometry to enrich the population of sperm containing the desired sex chromosome (X or Y); this enables us to increase the odds for selecting the genetic sex of the embryo, therefore increasing the odds of generating a baby of a desired sex. This technology is very useful to reduce the probability of inheriting X-linked genetics diseases, or to achieve family balancing.

MicroSort® technology is still considered experimental, this means that it is a research technique and as such it is currently a clinical trial under oversight by the FDA. As with many other procedures and devices, the FDA requires them to prove their safety before they can be used as a routine clinical service. In the case of MicroSort®, scientists must to prove that the procedure does not result in increased miscarriages or birth defects.

In compliance with the FDA clinical trial, MicroSort® is available only to patients who meet the requirements for clinical trial participation. Study data as of October, 2009, indicate that for patients sorting sperm for a baby girl, approximately 9 out of 10 of those who became pregnant were successful in conceiving a female baby; for those sorting for a baby boy, approximately 3 out of 4 who became pregnant were successful in conceiving a male baby. MicroSort® technology is more accurate for X-sorts (attempting to collect X-bearing sperm) than it is for Y-sorts (attempting to collect Y-bearing sperm).

The MicroSort® technique involves staining the sperm with a special stain for the DNA content. Sperm cells contain either an X chromosome (which results in a female embryo), or a Y chromosome (which results in a male embryo). Once stained, the sperm cells are analyzed by a flow cytometer for their DNA content of their sex chromosomes.

Because the X chromosome is larger that the Y chromosome the amount of DNA stain is different between a sperm containing an X or a Y chromosome. The flow cytometer can distinguish between an X-bearing chromosome and a Y-bearing chromosome and it has the ability to separate X- or Y-bearing sperm cells into separate collection vials; therefore enriching X- or Y-chromosome-bearing sperm populations. Once the procedure is completed, the sperm sample is frozen and sent to our facility for use in your treatment.