Can test tube babies give birth to boys and girls
IVF is a kind of assisted reproductive technology. Through in vitro fertilization, eggs and sperm are combined in the laboratory to form an embryo, and then the embryo is implanted into the female uterus for pregnancy. So, is it possible to choose the sex of test tube babies so that they can be born as male and female twins? Let's discuss it from different aspects.
Gender selection technology
At present, a gender selection technology, called PGD (preimplantation genetic gender diagnosis), has been developed in medicine. PGD, based on the principle of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, carries out gene analysis on embryos to determine the sex of embryos. Through PGD, embryos of the desired sex can be screened for implantation.
However, it should be noted that the gender selection technology is generally only applicable to one gender selection, rather than both male and female twins. This is because sex selection technology can only be carried out before embryo implantation, and cannot control the occurrence of twins in the process of fertilization in vivo.
Formation mechanism of twins
There are two main mechanisms for the formation of twins, one is monozygotic twins, the other is twin twins. Monozygotic twins refer to the combination of a sperm and an egg and then split into two embryos. In this case, the twins are of the same sex. Twin twins refer to the combination of two sperm and two eggs to form two embryos at the same time. In this case, the twins can be different in sex.
However, the fertilization process of IVF is completed in the laboratory, and the combination mode of sperm and egg cannot be controlled, so it is impossible to ensure simultaneous fertilization to produce twins.
Medical practice cases
Although IVF cannot guarantee the simultaneous fertilization of twins, there are indeed some cases of twins in IVF in medical practice. These cases are mainly because doctors implant multiple embryos into the uterus at the same time, and sometimes multiple embryos are successfully implanted.
However, the twins in these cases were not born due to the selection of a specific sex, but due to the simultaneous implantation of multiple embryos. Sex selection of test tube twins still depends on gender selection technology.
summary
IVF is less likely to have male and female twins. Because IVF is a fertilization process completed in the laboratory, the formation mechanism of twins cannot be controlled, and sex selection technology can only select embryos of one sex for implantation. Therefore, the current science and technology cannot ensure the birth of test tube babies with male and female twins at the same time.
However, the development of medicine is a process of continuous progress. With the continuous breakthrough of science and technology, there may be more possibilities to choose gender in the future. But at present, it is still a difficult task for IVF to give birth to male and female twins.
