IVF and Gender Selection

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I chose not to find out the sex of my embryos because I was worried it would make it even harder if my transfer wasn't successful.

Similar to this, one of the benefits of not finding out what we were having was that DH and I each had a strong desire for a specific name - his for a boy and mine for a girl. If we'd miscarried after finding out the gender we'd always feel like that was "Larlo/Larla" that we lost, and whichever name applied wouldn't get used in the end.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know which clinics in the area let you pick?

[Anonymous]

The doctors tend to chose the healthiest embryos, correct?

[Anonymous]

Are there ever multiple embryos of the same health and quality but different sex? If so, would a lab then let you pick? Or are there usually differences in strength and potential viability? We have a boy, I want another boy, and I bet a lab tech might pick girl to balance things or because they assume I want one....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there ever multiple embryos of the same health and quality but different sex? If so, would a lab then let you pick? Or are there usually differences in strength and potential viability? We have a boy, I want another boy, and I bet a lab tech might pick girl to balance things or because they assume I want one....

Yes, I had multiple embryos frozen and knew how many of each sex were “normal” aka passed PGT testing showing they had a matching set of chromosomes. I was allowed to indicate which sex embryo I wanted implanted or I could have chosen to not select. In which case, I think the lab tech picks one. It does not matter what the embryo looks like - all that matters is the PGS “normal” or “abnormal” stamped on the vial (or barcode in my situation)!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ever multiple embryos of the same health and quality but different sex? If so, would a lab then let you pick? Or are there usually differences in strength and potential viability? We have a boy, I want another boy, and I bet a lab tech might pick girl to balance things or because they assume I want one....

Yes, I had multiple embryos frozen and knew how many of each sex were “normal” aka passed PGT testing showing they had a matching set of chromosomes. I was allowed to indicate which sex embryo I wanted implanted or I could have chosen to not select. In which case, I think the lab tech picks one. It does not matter what the embryo looks like - all that matters is the PGS “normal” or “abnormal” stamped on the vial (or barcode in my situation)!

Not exactly true, at least at SGF. All embryos are given grades (as well as PGT/S testing if you want it), and generally are transferred from best grade to lowest grade. I don't know if SGF lets you choose gender- we knew we wouldn't so it was never a conversation. To the earlier question of "same health/quality", we've transferred from best grade to "lowest" grade, but all of ours except one had the exact same grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he wants to choose and you don't, why not let him pick and be a surprise for you?

+1 for this idea. We chose the sex of the embryo we implanted because either way, someone is choosing whether it is the lab tech or me.

Yes, but the lab tech is likely choosing the HEALTHIEST embryo.

+1
Also feels like playing God a bit too much to me (yes, I know IVF seems that way to some etc).

Want a sporty boy? Maybe you end up with a Broadway dancer.

Want a girly girl? Maybe you end up with a lesbian who shaves her head.

You see where I'm going with this.

Or none of your blasts make it to day 5 or they are all abnormal. Or nothing implants. Or you get chemicals and miscarriages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there ever multiple embryos of the same health and quality but different sex? If so, would a lab then let you pick? Or are there usually differences in strength and potential viability? We have a boy, I want another boy, and I bet a lab tech might pick girl to balance things or because they assume I want one....

Really doubt the lab tech is pulling your file to see the sex of your older kid. More likely to pick based on which embryo was easier to get out of the freezer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ever multiple embryos of the same health and quality but different sex? If so, would a lab then let you pick? Or are there usually differences in strength and potential viability? We have a boy, I want another boy, and I bet a lab tech might pick girl to balance things or because they assume I want one....

Yes, I had multiple embryos frozen and knew how many of each sex were “normal” aka passed PGT testing showing they had a matching set of chromosomes. I was allowed to indicate which sex embryo I wanted implanted or I could have chosen to not select. In which case, I think the lab tech picks one. It does not matter what the embryo looks like - all that matters is the PGS “normal” or “abnormal” stamped on the vial (or barcode in my situation)!

Not exactly true, at least at SGF. All embryos are given grades (as well as PGT/S testing if you want it), and generally are transferred from best grade to lowest grade. I don't know if SGF lets you choose gender- we knew we wouldn't so it was never a conversation. To the earlier question of "same health/quality", we've transferred from best grade to "lowest" grade, but all of ours except one had the exact same grade.

I don't understand your post. The last time I did IVF was 3 years ago, but at the time, certainly, the ONLY way for you to know the embryo sex was if you did a full karyotype testing. The embryos come out of this as PGS-normal and PGS-not normal. There are no other grades, as far as I remember. If you opted against PGS testing and your tech is transferring a best-graded (best-looking) embryo, then they don't know the sex either.

In our case, three years ago we PGS tested the whole batch of embryos we produced, and then out of the PGS-normal pool, selected the sex we wanted. Certainly, not everyone ends up with enough PGS normal embryos to choose from, but if you do have enough, SGF lets you choose the sex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ever multiple embryos of the same health and quality but different sex? If so, would a lab then let you pick? Or are there usually differences in strength and potential viability? We have a boy, I want another boy, and I bet a lab tech might pick girl to balance things or because they assume I want one....

Yes, I had multiple embryos frozen and knew how many of each sex were “normal” aka passed PGT testing showing they had a matching set of chromosomes. I was allowed to indicate which sex embryo I wanted implanted or I could have chosen to not select. In which case, I think the lab tech picks one. It does not matter what the embryo looks like - all that matters is the PGS “normal” or “abnormal” stamped on the vial (or barcode in my situation)!

Not exactly true, at least at SGF. All embryos are given grades (as well as PGT/S testing if you want it), and generally are transferred from best grade to lowest grade. I don't know if SGF lets you choose gender- we knew we wouldn't so it was never a conversation. To the earlier question of "same health/quality", we've transferred from best grade to "lowest" grade, but all of ours except one had the exact same grade.

I don't understand your post. The last time I did IVF was 3 years ago, but at the time, certainly, the ONLY way for you to know the embryo sex was if you did a full karyotype testing. The embryos come out of this as PGS-normal and PGS-not normal. There are no other grades, as far as I remember. If you opted against PGS testing and your tech is transferring a best-graded (best-looking) embryo, then they don't know the sex either.

In our case, three years ago we PGS tested the whole batch of embryos we produced, and then out of the PGS-normal pool, selected the sex we wanted. Certainly, not everyone ends up with enough PGS normal embryos to choose from, but if you do have enough, SGF lets you choose the sex.

Embryos are graded based on appearance. The normal grading system is two letters (AA, AB etc). This type of grading has been going on since long before PGT-A existed (which by the way is definitely NOT full karyotyping, they just look to see if the sample has the right number of chromosomes). When choosing among normal embryos, more highly graded embryos have better odds of success. The PGT-A is the most important factor for sure, but grading seems to matter too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ever multiple embryos of the same health and quality but different sex? If so, would a lab then let you pick? Or are there usually differences in strength and potential viability? We have a boy, I want another boy, and I bet a lab tech might pick girl to balance things or because they assume I want one....

Yes, I had multiple embryos frozen and knew how many of each sex were “normal” aka passed PGT testing showing they had a matching set of chromosomes. I was allowed to indicate which sex embryo I wanted implanted or I could have chosen to not select. In which case, I think the lab tech picks one. It does not matter what the embryo looks like - all that matters is the PGS “normal” or “abnormal” stamped on the vial (or barcode in my situation)!

Not exactly true, at least at SGF. All embryos are given grades (as well as PGT/S testing if you want it), and generally are transferred from best grade to lowest grade. I don't know if SGF lets you choose gender- we knew we wouldn't so it was never a conversation. To the earlier question of "same health/quality", we've transferred from best grade to "lowest" grade, but all of ours except one had the exact same grade.

I don't understand your post. The last time I did IVF was 3 years ago, but at the time, certainly, the ONLY way for you to know the embryo sex was if you did a full karyotype testing. The embryos come out of this as PGS-normal and PGS-not normal. There are no other grades, as far as I remember. If you opted against PGS testing and your tech is transferring a best-graded (best-looking) embryo, then they don't know the sex either.

In our case, three years ago we PGS tested the whole batch of embryos we produced, and then out of the PGS-normal pool, selected the sex we wanted. Certainly, not everyone ends up with enough PGS normal embryos to choose from, but if you do have enough, SGF lets you choose the sex.

Embryos are graded based on appearance. The normal grading system is two letters (AA, AB etc). This type of grading has been going on since long before PGT-A existed (which by the way is definitely NOT full karyotyping, they just look to see if the sample has the right number of chromosomes). When choosing among normal embryos, more highly graded embryos have better odds of success. The PGT-A is the most important factor for sure, but grading seems to matter too.

I know how they are graded (in the absence of PGT) but if grades is all you have, you won't have the gender info either so the whole discussion is moot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ever multiple embryos of the same health and quality but different sex? If so, would a lab then let you pick? Or are there usually differences in strength and potential viability? We have a boy, I want another boy, and I bet a lab tech might pick girl to balance things or because they assume I want one....

Yes, I had multiple embryos frozen and knew how many of each sex were “normal” aka passed PGT testing showing they had a matching set of chromosomes. I was allowed to indicate which sex embryo I wanted implanted or I could have chosen to not select. In which case, I think the lab tech picks one. It does not matter what the embryo looks like - all that matters is the PGS “normal” or “abnormal” stamped on the vial (or barcode in my situation)!

Not exactly true, at least at SGF. All embryos are given grades (as well as PGT/S testing if you want it), and generally are transferred from best grade to lowest grade. I don't know if SGF lets you choose gender- we knew we wouldn't so it was never a conversation. To the earlier question of "same health/quality", we've transferred from best grade to "lowest" grade, but all of ours except one had the exact same grade.

I don't understand your post. The last time I did IVF was 3 years ago, but at the time, certainly, the ONLY way for you to know the embryo sex was if you did a full karyotype testing. The embryos come out of this as PGS-normal and PGS-not normal. There are no other grades, as far as I remember. If you opted against PGS testing and your tech is transferring a best-graded (best-looking) embryo, then they don't know the sex either.

In our case, three years ago we PGS tested the whole batch of embryos we produced, and then out of the PGS-normal pool, selected the sex we wanted. Certainly, not everyone ends up with enough PGS normal embryos to choose from, but if you do have enough, SGF lets you choose the sex.

Embryos are graded based on appearance. The normal grading system is two letters (AA, AB etc). This type of grading has been going on since long before PGT-A existed (which by the way is definitely NOT full karyotyping, they just look to see if the sample has the right number of chromosomes). When choosing among normal embryos, more highly graded embryos have better odds of success. The PGT-A is the most important factor for sure, but grading seems to matter too.

I know how they are graded (in the absence of PGT) but if grades is all you have, you won't have the gender info either so the whole discussion is moot.

Yeah but that’s not the scenario we are talking about. The scenario here is transfer order for PGT-A tested normal embryos. The normal transfer order would be best graded to worst graded, even among normal embryos.

[Anonymous]

Hmm, this must be the new thing. Three years ago they just told us how many PGT normal embryos we had and what sex. No one mentioned grades. That was at SGF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmm, this must be the new thing. Three years ago they just told us how many PGT normal embryos we had and what sex. No one mentioned grades. That was at SGF.

It was the thing four years ago and again 8 months ago? But also, I’m not sure how much they broadcast gradings unless you specifically ask (and especially if they’re all nearly the same grade, as mine are)

[Anonymous]

Really? When I did IVF at SG years ago (almost 8) they graded the embryos and put the best one (or ones) in. I didn't do genetic analysis though.