Can I choose the gender of my baby with IVF?
Gender selection in the UK is strictly regulated and is only permitted for medical reasons, such as avoiding a serious genetic condition that is linked to a particular gender.
Can I choose the gender of my baby with IVF?
No. In the UK, choosing the gender of your baby for personal or family-balancing reasons isn't allowed, and we don't offer it at Care Fertility. This isn't a Care Fertility policy; it's UK law, and it applies to every licensed fertility clinic in the country.
What does UK law say?
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 bans sex selection for non-medical reasons. It's regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the UK's independent fertility regulator, which licenses and inspects every fertility clinic in the country, including ours. Any licensed clinic found selecting an embryo's sex for non-medical reasons would be in breach of the law.
This means that even where genetic testing reveals an embryo's sex as part of the process, such as with pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT), we can't use that information to choose which embryo to transfer based on gender alone.
When is sex selection allowed?
The only exception is medical. If you or your partner carry a serious inherited condition that only affects one sex, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy or haemophilia, pre-implantation genetic testing for monogenic conditions (PGT-M) can be used to identify embryos unaffected by the condition. In these cases, avoiding the condition is the goal, not selecting a particular gender.
If you're concerned about passing on an inherited condition, we'd recommend speaking with one of our genetic counsellors, who can talk you through whether PGT-M could be right for you.
What about clinics abroad?
Sex selection for non-medical reasons is legal in some countries, and you may see clinics elsewhere advertising it. UK law only applies to treatment carried out here, so we're not able to comment on services offered abroad. If you're considering treatment overseas, we'd always recommend researching the clinic's regulation, safety standards, and success rates carefully.
Why is the law so strict on this?
The ban has stayed in place, in part, because of a strong public consensus. When the HFEA consulted the public on this question, the large majority of respondents were against allowing sex selection for anything other than medical reasons. The law reflects that view, alongside broader concerns about the ethics of choosing a child's characteristics before birth.
Frequently asked questions
Is gender selection legal in the UK? No, not for personal or family-balancing reasons. UK law only permits it to avoid passing on a serious sex-linked genetic condition.
Does Care Fertility offer gender selection? No. We follow UK law and HFEA regulations, which don't permit sex selection for non-medical reasons.
Can genetic testing reveal my embryo's sex? Some genetic tests can reveal sex as part of the results, but we can't use that information to choose an embryo based on gender alone.
Can I have gender selection abroad and then come back to the UK? UK law governs treatment carried out in UK clinics. We can't advise on or facilitate treatment abroad, so we'd recommend speaking with a regulated clinic in that country directly if you're considering this route.