Baby Gender Mentor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Baby Gender Mentor packaging advertises a 99.9% accuracy rate and a 48-hour turn-around time.
The Baby Gender Mentor packaging advertises a 99.9% accuracy rate and a 48-hour turn-around time.

The Baby Gender Mentor test is a blood test designed to determine if a pregnant mother is carrying a boy or a girl. The test is made by Acu-Gen Biolab, Inc, a biotech company in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the United States and is marketed to detect the gender of a fetus as early as five weeks after conception.[1] An estimated 50-70% of expectant parents would like to know the gender of their child ahead of delivering the baby.[2] Parents might like to know this information early in order to get a head start on shopping for baby clothes or decorating the nursery;[3] others have cited an interest in preparing themselves or the baby's siblings for gender-specific issues.[4]

The company says that the accuracy of the test exceeds that of conventional methods, such as ultrasonography, amniocentesis, or chorionic villus sampling techniques, and that their test offers "unsurpassed accuracy, unrivaled earliness, and uncompromised promptness".[5] The product packaging states the test is 99.9% accurate, and one company advertisement has stated an accuracy of 99.99%.[4][6] The company offers a money-back guarantee that all test results will be available within 48 hours after receiving a sample and that the result will be accurate.[4] Acu-Gen has so far chosen not to release details of how the test works or proof of its accuracy, as they consider this information proprietary. The test made a prominent media debut on 17 June 2005 on the Today Show[3][7][8] and about 4,500 people had purchased the test by March 2006.[9]

The test has been the center of several controversies. Customers and scientists question the accuracy of the test;[10][11][12] and legal action is being pursued against Acu-Gen as well as a major supplier of the test.[9][11] Concerns have also been raised by bioethicists that use of the test could lead to practices such as gender selection[13][14][15] and Acu-Gen has allegedly used the test to illegally offer medical diagnoses.[16][17]

Contents

[edit] Test methodology

Step 5 of the Baby Gender Mentor instructions shows how to apply a few drops of blood to the card included with the kit.
Step 5 of the Baby Gender Mentor instructions shows how to apply a few drops of blood to the card included with the kit.

Acu-Gen reports that the test can tell expectant parents the sex of an embryo as early as five weeks into the pregnancy, with accuracy increasing as the pregnancy approaches eight weeks.[1] They say that after eight weeks, accuracy is consistent throughout the pregnancy and the test may be taken at any time. The test kit costs US$25.00. To use, the expectant mother pricks her finger to draw a small amount of blood, which is placed on card; the card is placed in the kit and sent to Acu-Gen, where the test is processed for an additional $250 fee.[3][18] Results are posted to the company's website (with password-restricted access) within two business days.[1]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate the test because the test is classified as non-medical and not marketed as a tool for medical diagnoses;[3] therefore, the regulatory hurdles that apply to pharmaceutical products do not apply to the Baby Gender Mentor test.[19] In particular, Acu-Gen is not obliged to disclose results of any tests or patient trials of the test that they may have conducted.[20] One unnamed Acu-Gen spokesperson was quoted as saying the 99.9% accuracy figure is based on 20,000 births, but that the company "won't publish results until it has patented its technology."[20]

Acu-Gen explains the test works by detecting fetal cells that have entered the mother's bloodstream through fetomaternal microchimerism. The company performs two tests: the first is a quantitative polymerase chain reaction and the other is proprietary. The sample is tested for the Y chromosome, which is present only in males. If there is no Y chromosome, the embryo is female.[3] Acu-Gen lists several scientific papers that are related to this field of study, but the cited publications do not refer specifically to the Baby Gender Mentor test.[21]

According to the company, the Baby Gender Mentor laboratory analysis will report one of four possible results to the expectant mother: Male, Female, Twins, or Inconclusive. A result of "Male" indicates that only male fetal DNA was present and so the expectant mother must be carrying one or more boys. Similarly, a result of "Female" indicates that only female fetal DNA was detected and the woman is expecting one or more girls. If the result is "Twins" then both male and female fetal DNA were detected and the pregnancy includes one or more boys and one or more girls. If the test is "Inconclusive" then Acu-Gen refers the customer to their warranty policy and procedure.[22]

[edit] Initial media attention

The test was featured on an episode of the Today Show in June 2005.[7] In that show, Katie Couric interviewed a woman named Holly Osborn who was mother to two daughters and expecting a third child. Also interviewed was Sherry Bonelli, the CEO of PregnancyStore.com, an Illinois-based on-line retailer where Osborn purchased her test. Bonelli is the president of a company called Mommy's Thinkin which is involved in marketing the Baby Gender Mentor test.[23] Bonelli said that the test had only been available for two weeks and that numerous people had inquired about the test in that short time. She also said that Acu-Gen had followed 2,000 pregnancies through to completion and that the lab results given by the Baby Gender Mentor had never been wrong in those trials.[7] She did not mention how these 2,000 pregnancies are related to the 20,000 pregnancies mentioned separately by Acu-Gen.[7][20]

Osborn said that she wanted to know the gender of her unborn baby because her house was filled with "pink and purples and lots of green" and she wanted to know whether to paint the nursery blue. She had agreed to have her test results announced to her on the show, and Bonelli informed her that her unborn baby was a girl, according to the results of the test.[7]

In the Today Show segment, Couric also interviewed Dr. Ronald Wappner, head of maternal fetal medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital,[24] who discussed possible pros and cons of the test.[7] His first concern was whether the stated accuracy rate achieved in the 2,000 test cases would be realized in real world usage. His second concern was whether couples who purchase the test might use the results for family balancing, which means the decision to utilize selective abortion to achieve a baby of the desired gender. Wappner said that one positive aspect of the Baby Gender Mentor test is the non-invasive nature of the test, which means there should be no risk of harm to the unborn baby.[7]

The test was listed as one of the top 10 innovations of 2005 by research company Datamonitor. In their report, titled Build A Better Mousetrap, Datamonitor identifies their picks for "the best new food, drink, health, household and pet products of 2005". They listed the test as the number 8 innovation of the year.[25]

[edit] Accuracy of the test disputed

At least 40 women have come forward to say their Baby Gender Mentor tests predicted the wrong gender.[26] According to a National Public Radio (NPR) report, the company has explained certain inaccurate results as being the result of a vanishing twin, a fetus that stopped growing soon after fertilization.[11] Vanishing Twin Syndrome occurs when one of the fetuses in a twin pregnancy spontaneously aborts, usually during the first trimester. The fetal tissue is absorbed by the other twin, the placenta, or the mother, thus giving the appearance that the twin "vanished." This usually results in a normal singleton pregnancy. Vanishing twins would theoretically explain apparent errors in the Baby Gender Mentor test: if fraternal twins, one male and female, were present when the test was taken, the test should indicate the presence of a male embryo and a female embryo; when the embryo later "vanishes", leaving the female baby to develop normally, the test would appear to be in error, despite being accurate at the time.

The medical community is not in agreement about how frequently vanishing-twin phenomena occurs.[27] The scientific method relies on the existence of a falsifiable hypothesis. This means that if it is not possible to observe a counterexample which disproves the claim, then the claim is not scientifically testable. If vanishing twins can be reabsorbed so completely that they leave no evidence, then it is not possible to prove whether they were ever present. This would make it impossible to ensure that all cases have been recorded.[28] Two papers have reported that a vanishing twin may occur in 12% of all pregnancies,[29][30] with other studies reporting as little as 3%.[31][32] However, even if vanishing twins are assumed to be a common occurrence, they do not explain all of the apparent incorrect results. According to Acu-Gen's website, they can predict a mixed gender set of fraternal twins, so the test should have predicted twins instead of predicting a singleton baby whose gender turned out to be incorrect.[22]

With Acu-Gen so far choosing not to publish proof of its claims and evidence of several women receiving inaccurate predictions, doctors are concerned about the test. Among the scientific evidence cited by Acu-Gen's web site is a paper co-authored by Diana Bianchi, an expert on fetal DNA at Tufts University. The NPR story quoted Bianchi as saying, "I think at the present time we need to be concerned whether the test is accurate or not," and "I think it's caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware."[10] Another criticism has come from Sandra Carson, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine and involved in research in sex selection. Carson says, "Until Acu-Gen releases its data, there's no way to know the test's reliability. Until that's out, I think it shouldn't be on the market."[12]

In contrast to the criticisms, a website offering the test for sale has testimonials from women who have received successful predictions from the test.[33] The on-line retailer PregnancyStore.com has advertised themselves as the exclusive distributor of the test.[6] Sherry Bonelli, CEO of PregnancyStore.com, says that scientists who are skeptical about the test are jealous of Acu-Gen and that the skeptics have not produced any evidence to show that the test is inaccurate.[34] Dr. Charles Lockwood, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale School of Medicine, said that it is possible for fetal DNA to be found in maternal blood as soon as the placenta has developed, and that detection after five weeks "is not impossible."[26]

There are multiple legal challenges and investigations under way. Gail O'Conner, a spokesperson for the Illinois State Attorney General, says that they are investigating The PregnancyStore.com for possible fraud.[11] Florida Congressman Jim Davis has urged the FDA to investigate Acu-Gen, and the Florida Attorney General has opened an investigation against Acu-Gen.[35][36] A law firm named Gainey & McKenna has filed a class action lawsuit[37] and at least one other firm is inviting people to contact them about their legal rights if they are unhappy with the results of their test.[38] Gainey & McKenna's lawsuit seeks to bar the company from false advertising in marketing its test and to compel the firm to honor its money-back guarantee.[9] The law firm cites seven areas of contention, including the veracity of the accuracy claims and the and violation of HIPAA and other laws.[39] Acu-Gen has characterized the legal challenge as a "totally bogus lawsuit".[17] The Better Business Bureau has given the company an "unsatisfactory" rating.[40] As of January 19, 2007 the BBB reports they have processed 23 complaints in the last 12 months and 30 in the last 36 months. Twelve of these were listed as "unresolved" or "no response".[41]

[edit] Possible use for gender selection

The National Public Radio investigative report on Acu-Gen predicted that parents may use the Baby Gender Mentor test as a basis for determining whether to get an abortion as a means of gender selection.[11] KMSP-TV interviewed genetic counselor Dr. Analia Bortz who made the same prediction.[13] The concern is that learning the gender at such an early point may lead parents to terminate the pregnancy if they were hoping for a baby of the opposite sex to that indicated by the test. Americans United for Life says that women disappointed by the result of their test would find it easier to have an abortion if they get the results early. They say that women who want to have a specific gender will be learning the results at a time when it is safer for them to have an abortion, without the complications associated with aborting later in pregnancy.[14]

Biothesists believe that gender selection is an ethical problem that could be disruptive to society. Charles Lockwood of Yale says, "a disproportionate number of female fetuses have been terminated worldwide, and a 2-to-1 male-to-female ratio could lead to social unrest and wars."[26] According to Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, gender selection is not a frequent occurrence in the United States but it is a concern in countries like India and China, where having boys is preferred over having girls.[15] In China, gender selection has led to men outnumbering women by 55 to 45.[8][42] In India, the ratio of girls to boys is also on the decline. The 2004 census shows that there were 818 girls born per 1000 boys; the ratio varies in different parts of India, with the greatest imbalance occurring in the most aflluent area.[43] In a certain portion of New Delhi, only 762 girls were born per 1,000 boys.[8][42] India's Health Minister Ramesh Chander Dogra has said he will take action to ban the test in India.[44]

Not all experts agree that sex selection is unethical or that it should be prohibited. Kimberly Mutcherson, an assistant professor at Rutgers School of Law - Camden, said people should be able to use the information any way they want; "People make sex selection decisions for many reasons--to balance their family, or to check for gender-related disease. If you believe women have the right to choose, those are perfectly legitimate reasons."[42] Mutherson teaches tort law at Camden and her research interests include health law, family law, and bioethics.[45]

The website for the PregnancyStore.com says that they will ship the tests only within the United States,[2] though the test has been purchased by customers in Canada[25] and in Scotland.[46][47] Sheila McLean, professor of medical ethics at Glasgow University, is critical of the kits. She said, "This firm could be making claims they cannot substantiate, luring people into thinking they have information on which they can act. For some mums and dads, that might only go as far as painting the nursery pink but others may terminate a pregnancy because they believe they are not getting what they want. That's enough of an ethical minefield but what if they were to abort a child they did want?"[46]

[edit] Warranty and availability

In an ABC interview, Acu-Gen President Wang said he stands by the company's product.
In an ABC interview, Acu-Gen President Wang said he stands by the company's product.

Acu-Gen has allegedly created new requirements for people who want to take advantage of the money-back guarantee.[48][49] The attorney Barry Gainey, of Gainey & McKenna, says that Wang is "making people send in the original birth certificate. He's making them get blood tests from the newborn baby. And there's other requirements that he's now adding to the refund in order to avoid paying back these people and giving them the 200-percent refund." None of those requirements were on the boxes shipped to early customers, but the requirements have since appeared on Acu-Gen's website.[49][26] Gainey has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of 40 people who claim they received inaccurate results but were unable to obtain refunds from Acu-Gen.[26]

There have been conflicting reports about how often the company has refunded money to consumers who received an erroneous result with the test. In February 2006, Acu-Gen's President Chang Wang said, "We don't mistakes. Period." (sic)[50] Yet in October 2005 he had stated his company had issued four refund checks, including one for a case involving a vanishing twin.[15] The PregnancyStore.com says that none of the refund checks were issued as a result of the test being proven wrong by a live birth. Their website states:

“ To date, Acu-Gen has issued 200% refund checks to a few customers -- NOT for incorrectly identifying the baby's gender at birth, though. Two are for cases involving vanishing twins, one case due to insufficient blood sample, two cases caused by incomplete reactions and three reversal cases of no obvious reasons. All of these eight cases are currently into their second trimester of pregnancy.[51] ”

In March 2006, Wang said in an e-mail to NPR, he has "decided to defer all his energies regarding the BGM product and service for one more year, when results of actual births compared to the results provided by Baby Gender Mentor should answer any concern about the accuracy of the test."[19]

Initial news reports and the Acu-Gen website touted a 200% money-back guarantee.[15] In May 2006, the Acu-Gen website was modified to show a different warranty than the one that had originally promised to refund 200% of the purchase price of the test. The new warranty states:

“ We guarantee that all test results are 99.9% accurate. If your test results are legitimately incorrect, Baby Gender Mentor will refund you all costs that include laboratory and purchasing expenses.* A valid registration code and a birth certificate are required for the refund. You MUST read and follow all kit instructions. Baby Gender Mentor is not responsible for any consequences resulting from failure to follow kit instructions. To claim the refund, the birth certificate should include BOTH the address and name of the purchaser. In some instances, Baby Gender Mentor may request the finger press of the baby to conclude the refund process...[52] ”

The PreganancyStore.com also updated their website to state that the warranty was only 100% of the purchase price.[2] In July 2006, the PregnancyStore.com reported that the test was "currently out of stock",[2] and In-Gender.com reported that the test has been completely pulled from the market.[53] As of January 2007, PregnancyStore.com no longer contains any mention of the kit on their website,[54] although the Acu-Gen website does contain a form for on-line purchasing of the kit.[55]

[edit] Alleged use for medical diagnoses

The Baby Gender Mentor test is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration because it is not a medical test or procedure.[3][20] Acu-Gen's website specifically states that the test is not a medical test:

“ Acu-Gen Biolab, Inc. (“Acu-Gen”) and the www.babygendermentor.com website (“Web Site”) do not offer medical advice or professional services. The products and information provided with the Baby Gender Mentor Test cannot and should not be used for diagnosing or treating a known or suspected health condition or illness. The Baby Gender Mentor Test is not a substitute for medical or professional care. If you have, or you suspect that you or your baby may have, a health condition or illness, you should consult with your doctor. Never disregard medical or professional care or advice or delay seeking it because of something you have learned from Acu-Gen, the Baby Gender Mentor Test or our Web Site. Except for the specific information contained on our Web Site, you cannot and should not rely on any information provided by Acu-Gen, Acu-Gen employees or other visitors to our Web Site. The content of our Web Site is provided on an “as is” basis.[56] ”

Tests similar to the Baby Gender Mentor test can be used for medical diagnoses. For instance, scientists have shown that it is possible to use fetal DNA from a mother's blood to screen the unborn baby for genetic defects such as Down's Syndrome. In a validation study sponsored by the National Institute for Child Health and Development, 5 different labs used fetal cells from maternal blood to search for evidence of Down's Syndrome in 2,744 pregnancies. On average, the labs correctly spotted Down's Syndrome babies 74% of the time.[20]

In at least one case, Wang has phoned an expectant mother one month after giving her the gender prediction to inform her that her test indicated an "excess of genetic material in her blood" and advised her to see her doctor in order "to rule out problems like Down's syndrome or Trisomy 18."[16] Wang explains this means "with a certain possibility, that her fetus has a kind of genetic problem. Of course later on, we had used our technology to prove that she has a chromosome problem: Trisomy 18. That means that this baby [is] going to have a developmental problem and is going to probably cease to exist right after the birth."[16] Dr. Diana Bianchi of Tufts disputes the possibility of the test being used for such a diagnosis. She says, "The test involves looking at genetic sequences on the X chromosome and the Y chromosome. If he gave a diagnosis of Trisomy 18, that involves a different chromosome, Chromosome 18. That is certainly something that is not advertised in the packaging associated with the test."[16] It is possible that, upon being told of a problem by Acu-Gen, that a mother may seek to have an amniocentesis or other invasive procedure which may be an unnecessary risk if the Acu-Gen diagnosis was in error.[57][58] In this case, the mother delivered a healthy baby free from both Trisomy 18 and Down's Syndrome.[16]

Another case was documented in an ABC World News Tonight featuring one of the women who are suing Acu-Gen. According to the mother, when Acu-Gen's prediction of a boy did not match with the ultrasound prediction of a girl, Wang told her to expect a baby with ambiguous genitalia. The mother later gave birth to a baby girl with normal female genitalia.[17]

The class action lawsuit filed by Gainey & McKenna alleges that Acu-Gen is improperly dispensing medical advice. The law firm claims Wang has contacted "many women" and advised them that their fetuses have chromosomal abnormalities. They say claim that Dr. Wang, who is listed as a Ph.D., is providing women "with all sorts of medical advice and diagnoses". They say their clients have suffered great emotional distress and have undergone unnecessary medical testing based upon Dr. Wang's "advice".[39]

[edit] About Acu-Gen

Acu-Gen is a biotech company in Lowell, Massachusetts and is led by Cheng Wang, the company's President. A National Public Radio reporter visited the address given as the headquarters of Acu-Gen in September 2005. They found that the building at that address contains a Hindu temple and a company called BioTronics, but no sign for Acu-Gen. According to NPR, their inquiries at BioTronics revealed the two companies have common ownership, but no one was available to comment for the NPR story.[11] Acu-Gen does not mention a direct link to BioTronics in their marketing materials. However, they do state on their web-site that they utilize BioTronics' AmpliSensor technology.[21] AmpliSensor is a real-time quantitative PCR assay invented by Wang and marketed by BioTronics.[21][59]

A news crew from television station WFTS, an American Broadcasting Company (ABC) affiliate, visited the Acu-Gen offices in February 2006. They found "about six employees inside Wang's lab, some putting together gender test kits, others doing some type of lab work. There was a room full of machines Chang said he created, and shelves stacked with blood samples supposedly sent in by women from across the United States."[16] BioTronics does make a laboratory instrument known as an AG-9600 ApliSensor Analyzer, which is used for running AmpliSensor reactions.[60]

It is not known whether the two journalists visited the same address, nor is it known whether Acu-Gen and BioTronics currently share office or laboratory space. As of January 2007, Acu-Gen lists their address as "50 Stedman Street, Lowell, MA".[61] On December 2, 2006 BioTronics' trademark on "AmpliSensor" (U.S. trademark registration number 1958576) was declared dead and cancelled. At that time, BioTronics' address was listed as "44 Stedman Street, Unit 5, Lowell, MA".[62]

[edit] Competition

At least two other companies offer pre-natal gender testing using maternal blood. Neither of these companies has received the media attention, nor caused as much controversy, as Acu-Gen. A Toronto lab, Paragon Genetics, has offered a similar test since 2003.[20] Their test may be taken beginning at 10 weeks into the pregnancy as opposed to the five weeks given by Acu-Gen. The Paragon Genetics test costs $390, requires a vial of fresh blood, and takes 10 business days to return results instead of the 48 hours needed by Acu-Gen. The lab's director, Yuri Melekhovets, said the Baby Gender Mentor setup concerns him somewhat because from his experience and knowledge of the literature, "it appears that fresh blood works best [for testing]."[8] He also said he is aware of the ethical concerns surrounding sex selection but he says, "We supply the information, and what you do with the information is up to you."[8] He also argues that parents can already conduct gender selection through other technologies, such as ultrasound.[20] The other company is DNAPlus of Chatsworth, California. They require a vial of fresh blood and 8-10 days to complete the test, which costs $390.[63]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c A Total Advantage. Acu-Gen website. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d Baby Gender Mentor™ Home DNA Gender Testing Kit. The PregnancyStore.com. Retrieved on July 18, 2006.
  3. ^ a b c d e f O'Crowley, Peggy. "Parents May Welcome Baby Gender Test, But Bioethicists Worry", Newhouse News Service, 2005. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c "Sex Matters: Baby's gender: no longer a secret?", US News and World Report, 2005-06-24. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  5. ^ Information on Baby Gender Mentor test. Acu-Gen website. Retrieved on October 21, 2005.
  6. ^ a b Can't Wait to Find Out (PDF). PregnancyStore.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Today Show video segment (Flash). PregnancyStore.com. Retrieved on July 18, 2006.
  8. ^ a b c d e Goldberg, Carey. "Test reveals gender early in pregnancy", The Boston Globe, 2005-06-27. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  9. ^ a b c "Parents sue manufacturer of Baby Gender Mentor", The Taipei Times / The Guardian, Washington, 2006-03-16. Retrieved on July 17, 2006.
  10. ^ a b Boyce, Nell. "Critics Question Accuracy of Fetus Sex Test", National Public Radio, 2005-09-29. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Boyce, Nell. "Questions Raised Over Accuracy of Gender Test", National Public Radio, 2005-10-10. Retrieved on January 23, 2007.
  12. ^ a b Ault, Alicia. "The Gender Flap", Washington Post, 2005-07-19. Retrieved on October 21, 2005.
  13. ^ a b "Baby Gender Mentor", Fox9 News, 2006. Retrieved on July 17, 2006.
  14. ^ a b Langton, James. "Revolutionary foetus sex test raises eugenics fears", London Telegraph, 2005-10-07. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  15. ^ a b c d Goldschmidt, Debra. "Gender Bender - A new test claims it can determine fetal gender as early as five weeks into pregnancy. Doctors are skeptical.", Newsweek, 2005-10-18. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  16. ^ a b c d e f "Baby gender test leads to great concern for some mothers-to-be", ABC Action News - Tampa, 2006-02-20. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  17. ^ a b c "World News Tonight", ABC. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  18. ^ Prick finger and collect blood. Acu-Gen website. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  19. ^ a b Boyce, Nell and Inskeep, Steve. "Revisiting the Baby Gender Mentor", National Public Radio, 2006-02-27. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
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  21. ^ a b c Science Behind Facts. Acu-Gen website. Retrieved on October 21, 2005.
  22. ^ a b FAQ - Is The Baby Gender Mentor Test Right For Me?. BabyGenderMentor.com. Retrieved on January 22, 2007.
  23. ^ PreganancyStore.com in the news!. PregnancyStore.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  24. ^ Haberman, Maggie. "Kit makes it a womb with a view", New York Daily News, 2005-08-16. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  25. ^ a b Standfield, Robert. "What Will They Think of Next?", Daily Record (UK), 2006-01-12. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  26. ^ a b c d e Zand M.D., Sarvenaz. "ABC News: Parents Sue Over Pregnancy Test Said to Tell Baby's Sex", February 26, 2006. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  27. ^ Landy H, Keith L (1998). "The vanishing twin: a review". Hum Reprod Update 4 (2): 177-83. PMID 9683354. 
  28. ^ Pinborg A, Lidegaard O, Andersen A (2006). "The vanishing twin: a major determinant of infant outcome in IVF singleton births". Br J Hosp Med (Lond) 67 (8): 417-20. PMID 16918096. 
  29. ^ Pamela Prindle Fierro. Vanishing Twin Syndrome. About.com. Retrieved on October 21, 2005.
  30. ^ La Sala G, Villani M, Nicoli A, Gallinelli A, Nucera G, Blickstein I (2006). "Effect of the mode of assisted reproductive technology conception on obstetric outcomes for survivors of the vanishing twin syndrome". Fertil Steril 86 (1): 247-9. PMID 16716323. 
  31. ^ Sulak, LE; Dodson, MG (December 1986). "The vanishing twin: pathologic confirmation of an ultrasonographic phenomenon". Obstet Gynecol. 68 (6): 811-5. Retrieved on 2007-01-26. PMID 3537876
  32. ^ Technical Article List. VanishingTwin.com. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  33. ^ Baby Gender Mentor Testimonials. PregnancyStore.com. Retrieved on January 22, 2007.
  34. ^ Dr. Free-Ride. Science, meet Capitalism. Blogspot. Retrieved on October 21, 2005.
  35. ^ "Congressman urges FDA to investigate Acu-Gen's Baby Gender Mentor, and to regulate similar baby gender tests", In-gender.com, May 31, 2006. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  36. ^ "ABC Tampa's Linda Hurtado reports Florida congressman urges FDA to investigate Baby Gender Mentor and similar products; Florida attorney general investigates Acu-Gen" (WMV), WFTS. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  37. ^ Welcome to BabyGenderInvestigation.com. BabyGenderInvestigation.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  38. ^ Baby Gender Mentor / Acu-Gen. Wiliams Love O'Leary Craine and Powers P.C. (WLOPC&P). Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  39. ^ a b Summary of the claims currently being investigated. BabyGenderInvestigation.com. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  40. ^ "Baby Gender Mentor retracts 200% money back guarantee, and PregnancyStore suspends sales of the gender test", In-gender.com, May 24, 2006. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  41. ^ "Reliability Report", Better Business Bureau, January 19, 2007. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  42. ^ a b c "New pregnancy test makes Asia jittery", Asia Pacific Post, August 11, 2005. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  43. ^ George, SM. (July 2006). "Millions of missing girls: from fetal sexing to high technology sex selection in India". Prenat Diagn 26 (7): 604-9.  PMID 16856224
  44. ^ "Punjab plans to ban US gender determination kit", Gulf News, July 3, 2006. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  45. ^ Kimberly Mutcherson. Rutgers School of Law - Camden. Retrieved on January 22, 2007.
  46. ^ a b White, Donna. "Exclusive: For Sale: Sex of Your Baby - Anger flares over sex over £150 home test", Sunday Mail (UK), October 23, 2005. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  47. ^ "Kit said I'd have a boy.. but my tot's a girl", Sunday Mail (UK), October 23, 2005. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  48. ^ "Acu-Gen balks at giving refunds for birth certificates showing Baby Gender Mentor was wrong", InGender.com, December 30, 2005. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  49. ^ a b "Baby gender test spawns talk of class-action lawsuit", ABC Action News - Tampa, 2006-02-21. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  50. ^ "Experts call for regulation of baby gender tests", ABC Action News - Tampa, 2006-2-20. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  51. ^ Preganancy Store.com in the news!. PregnancyStore.com. Retrieved on July 18, 2006.
  52. ^ Guarantee. Acu-Gen website. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  53. ^ "India state plans to ban Baby Gender Mentor and other early prenatal gender tests", In-gender.com, July 2, 2006. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  54. ^ Pregnancy Store: One-Stop Shop for Moms-to-Be. PregnancyStore.com. Retrieved on January 22, 2007.
  55. ^ BGM TEST KIT: $25.00 (NOT Include $250.00 Lab Service Fee). BabyGenderMentor.com. Retrieved on January 22, 2007.
  56. ^ Things you must know. BabyGenderMentor.com. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
  57. ^ "Acu-Gen reports chromosomal abnormalities to pregnant mothers who paid for gender test", In-gender.com, October 31, 2005. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  58. ^ "Prenatal test reveals more than gender", New Jersey Star-Ledger, October 31, 2005.
  59. ^ Biotronics corporation. Biotech-register.com. Retrieved on January 19, 2007.
  60. ^ US patent 6033854 Full text at:U.S. Patent No 6,033,854 - Quantitative PCR using blocking oligonucleotides. PatentGenius.com (March 7, 2000). Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
  61. ^ Contact us. BabyGenderMentor.com. Retrieved on January 22, 2007.
  62. ^ AmpliSensor. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
  63. ^ Fetal Cell/DNA Prenatal Gender Test - A Noninvasive Prenatal Gender Test Sampling Only the Mother's Blood. DNAPlus.com. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.

[edit] Further reading

  • Wang, CNJ; Wu KY, Wang H (1995). Quantitative PCR Using the AmpliSensor Assay. In: PCR Primer: A Laboratory Manual (Dieffenbach CW, Dveksler GS (eds) ). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, pp.193-202. ISBN 978-0879694470. 
  • US patent 5348853 "Method for reducing non-specific priming in DNA amplification", Wang CNJ, Wu KY. (1994).
  • US patent 5567583 "Method for reducing non-specific priming in DNA detection", Wang CNJ, Wu KY. (1996).
  • US patent 5712386 "Kits for detecting a nucleic acid with blocking oligonucleotides", Wang CNJ, Wu KY. (1998).
  • US patent 6033854 "Quantitative PCR using blocking oligonucleotides", Kurnit, DM, Chiang PW, Wang CNJ. (2000).

[edit] External links

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