ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To identify fetal gender using fetal DNA in maternal plasma. METHODS: DNA from maternal plasma of 55 pregnant women(47: inpatients, 8: outpatients) underwent a sensitive Y-PCR assay to identify gender. RESULTS: Of the inpatients, fetus-derived Y sequences were detected in 26(80.6%) of the 31 maternal plasma samples from women bearing male fetuses. None of the 16 women bearing female fetuses had positive results from plasma DNA. Eighteen weeks is earliest gestation of gender identification. Of the outpatients(GA 8-11 weeks), fetus-derived Y sequences were detected in 7 of the 8 maternal plasma. Only one patient's fetal gender(GA 9 weeks) was identified. The others were not identified at this moment. CONCLUSION: We identified fetal DNA in maternal plasma. The sensitivity of Y-PCR was 80.6% in women bearing male fetus and the specificity was 100% in women bearing female fetus.