Miss Chan, who has a daughter, did not want to leave anything to chance when she decided to have another child a year ago. For a foolproof way to conceive a boy, she turned to a local consultancy which arranges for couples to undergo gender-specific artificial insemination in Thailand and US. After spending HK$180,000 and 10 days in Bangkok, the 26-year-old’s wish came true six months ago.
“I had a test after returning from Thailand, and it confirmed that I’m carrying a boy. All the money and procedures are worth it as my mother-in-law wants a grandson very much,”she says.
Chan’s treatment consisted of in-vitro fertilisation and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) – also known as embryo screening – which tests embryos for genetic diseases and gender.
Gender selection is illegal in Hong Kong, so couples must travel to have the treatment in the US, Thailand, South Africa and the Middle East, the handful of countries where the process is legal.