Hyderabad: Several attempts have been made to thwart the practice of sex determination of a foetus in order to prevent the widely rampant crime of female foeticide.A Hyderabad-based diagnostic centre, Lucid Medical Diagnostics Centre, has declared on its website that the centre does a sex determining region Y (SRY) Test in Hyderabad for Rs.4,400, raising concerns about the centre’s bid to perform pre-natal tests.The website reads, ‘The Sex Determining Region Y (SRY) is a gene located on the Y chromosome. It plays a crucial role in male sex determination and development’.Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Dr. Kumarswamy Thangaraj, JC Bose Fellow, at CCMB and former director of CDFD, said, “Sex-determining Region Y is primarily a gene located on the Y chromosome, crucial for male-typical sex development. The pre-natal test of an SRY gene is strictly banned in India in order to prevent sex selection and female foeticide.”Hyderabad district medical health officer Dr. Venkati Jummidi said that he was not aware of such a test and said, “I will consult a geneticist about the same.” Dr. Srinivas Gundagani from the Telangana State Medical Council told Deccan Chronicle, “The test is strictly banned in India and cannot be conducted at any cost. If at all a centre does it, strict punishment would be imposed on them.” A manager from one of the branches of Lucid Diagnostic Centre initially denied that such a test was being performed by them. She was silent when asked on why the test was announced on their website.The manager of a separate branch of Lucid Diagnostic Centre said, “I understand your problem, I know such doctors, I can help you get a baby boy.”Speaking of genetic abnormalities, Dr. Thangaraj said, “the possibility of a genetic abnormality is very low. In the last 15 years, I have only come across 10 such cases across India. In case of a genetic abnormality too, a bunch of chromosomes are first tested, and if it is found that a particular gene of a chromosome, or let’s say SRY gene is mutated, only then a test like this would be conducted.”Even in cases of complacency, which is rare, only a gynaecologist or a geneticist can conduct a test. However, when checked with Lucid Diagnostic Centre, most of its centres lacked a gynaecologist or a geneticist, raising concerns about why such a test is then being advertised on their website.
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