US Sex Determination Kit Sparks Fresh Fears in India

June 18, 2006

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

CHANDIGARH, INDIA, June 17, 2006: For the Indian states which have been able to control sex-determination tests through ultrasound, a new US-patented gender testing kit -- available over the Internet -- which enables sex-determination as early as five weeks after conception will spell more troubles. The kit costs US$275 and involves sending a blood sample to a US laboratory and receiving results within 48 hours. "If the kit enters the Indian market, it can lead to mass abortions of the female foetus and further skew sex ratios," says Dr. Kuldeep Singh, former president of Indian Medical Association, Punjab. "Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, an abortion can take place till the 12th week and this kit assures detection in the fifth week itself," says Dr. Singh, asking the Punjab health authorities to take immediate steps to ban the site from viewing in India. Claiming 99. 5% accuracy, the company says that the kit's technology has been in trial for 14 years. The technique traces the amount of active genetic fetal chromosomal DNA in the maternal blood to determine gender.

Krishan Kumar, deputy commissioner, Nawanshahr, who is spearheading the campaign to curb the menace of ultra-sound machines that are widely used for sex-determination tests, says, "If such a kit exists, the very thought of it worries me. We have been unable to control sex-determination tests through ultra-sounds and the new kit will compound the problems. I also see Punjabis headed for the US to get the tests done as it has already been established that Indians are going abroad to get male embryo implanted."