Gender-selection methods are somewhat controversial. Some people believe that us
ID: 3159507 • Letter: G
Question
Gender-selection methods are somewhat controversial. Some people believe that use of such methods should be prohibited, regardless of the reason. Others believe that limited use should be allowed for medical reasons, such as to prevent gender-specific hereditary disorders. For example, some couples carry X-linked recessive genes, so that a male child has a 50% chance of inheriting aa serious disorder and a female child has no chance of inheriting the disorder. These couples may want to use a gender-selection method to increase the likelihood of having a baby girl so that none of their children inherit the disorder. Methods of gender-selection have been around for many years. In the 1980s, ProCare Industries sold a product called Gender Choice. The product cost only $49.95, but the FDA told the company to stop distributing Gender Choice because there was no evidence to support the claim that it was 80% reliable. The Genetics and IVF Institute developed a newer gender-selection method called MicroSort. The MicroSort XSORT method is designed to increase the likelihood of a baby girl, and the YSORT method is designed to increase the likelihood of a boy. Here is a statement from the MicroSort web site: “The Genetics and IVF Institute is offering couples the ability to increase the chance of having a child of the desired gender to reduce the probability of X-linked diseases or for family balancing.” Stated simply, for a cost exceeding $3000, The Genetics and IVF Institute claims that it can increase the probability of having a baby of the gender that a couple prefers. As of this writing, the MicroSort method is undergoing clinical trials, but these results are available: Among 726 couples who used the XSORT method in trying to have a baby girl, 668 couples did have baby girsl, for a success rate of 92.0%. Under normal circumstances with no special treatment, girls occur in 50% of the births. (Actually the current birth rate of girls is 48.79%, but we will use 50% to keep things simple.) These results provide us with an interesting question: Given that 668 out of 726 couples had girls, can we actually support the claim that the XSORT technique is effective in increasing the probability of a girl? Do we now have an effective method of gender selection?
Explanation / Answer
Formulating the null and alternatuve hypotheses,
Ho: p <= 0.5
Ha: p > 0.5
As we see, the hypothesized po = 0.5
Getting the point estimate of p, p^,
p^ = x / n = 0.920110193
Getting the standard error of p^, sp,
sp = sqrt[po (1 - po)/n] = 0.01855674
Getting the z statistic,
z = (p^ - po)/sp = 22.63922338
As this is a 1 tailed test, then, getting the p value,
pvalue = 8.9077E-114
As the pvalue is very small, we REJECT THE NULL HYPOTHESIS.
Hence, there is significant evidence to support the claim that the XSORT technique is effective in increasing the probability of a girl. [CONCLUSION]
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.