British couples may soon be able to soon be able to chose the sex of their babies using US fertility technology.
A US fertility clinic is using a "sex-sorting" machine on the father's sperm to give couples babies with the gender they have ordered.
The MicroSort system - used by the Genetics And IVF Institute in Fairfax, Virginia - tags and separates sperm carrying male and female chromosomes.
Over 300 couples, including one from Britain, have conceived using the technique, and 200 babies have already been born.
It increases the likelihood of conceiving a girl to 92 per cent and 72 per cent for a boy. This is significantly higher than other methods.
It has yet to be employed by any assisted reproduction unit in Britain, but the Human Fertilisation And Embryology Authority says it could not block its use.
The authority is only responsible for IVF procedures and donated and frozen sperm, a spokesman said.
PA