Despite being banned, fetus gender test sticks can be bought easily on the market in Vietnam, and most of them come from China or Cambodia, a Tuoi Tre investigation has found.
Currently, early gender test kits are advertized to have been imported from France, the US or other countries, and they can identify the sex of a fetus with an accuracy rate of over 90 percent.
In some cases, the accuracy rate is said to be 99.99 percent.
Meanwhile, many users told Tuoi Tre that they were disappointed with the device’s ability to forecast baby gender.
On June 3, Tuoi Tre reporters visited an area near the pharmaceutical-selling quarter on Nguyen Gian Thanh Street in District 10 to buy gender test sticks.
A trader who identified himself as Duy said, “Those sticks are banned from being traded in Vietnam, but I can provide them. They can forecast the gender of a fetus that is six weeks old.”
Duy also provided directions on how to use the stick. “It is easy to use. Simply put five to seven drops of urine on this end of the stick. Five minutes later, if green is seen on the end, you will have a boy, and if red appears, you will have a girl. Very fast and accurate.”
Duy said he sells the sticks for VND750,000 (US$36) each, and will cut the price to VND500,000 for people who buy 30 sticks or more.
He also said he could deliver to customers nationwide if they buy a large quantity of sticks.
Like Duy, many other traders said that their goods were imported.
Hung, a pharmaceuticals trader, told our correspondents, “My sticks are from the US. They have been brought into Vietnam by some Vietnamese doctors who returned from the US.”
Through contact details posted on a website, Tuoi Tre also contacted a trader who is in Hanoi.
Hai, the trader, said, “These are banned goods, but we can provide two kinds at prices of VND850,000 and VND1,050,000. We can provide door-to-door delivery to customers who have paid a deposit via bank transfer.”
Hai added that he has opened three outlets in Hanoi and HCMC to serve customers.
Another trader in Hanoi, Lan, also told our reporters that she can deliver sticks within a day after receiving a deposit. “Since this is a banned commodity, we have to deliver it at mutually agreed places or at buyers’ homes.”
Accuracy unreliable
Nguyen Thi Ha, a woman who lives in District 2, told Tuoi Tre, “I have used the kit and found it unreliable. A week before I gave birth, I used the stick and it turned pink, which meant I would have a girl. However, I gave birth to a boy.”
“Many gender test sticks have no labels or trademarks on them. People say they were imported from China or Cambodia, not from the US or France as advertized,” said another mother, Phan Thi Hoa, of Hiep Thanh Ward, District 12.
“I used one of them and the test result said I would have a boy, but four months later, I gave birth to a girl,” Hoa said.
According to many users of these sticks, there are now two kinds that are advertised the most: Gendermaker and Intelligender.
Nguyen Hanh, from District 10, said, “We have a six-year-old girl and hope to have a son. When my wife was seven months pregnant, I bought a Gendermaker stick and the test result was ‘girl’. To make sure of the result, three days later I used an Intelligender stick, and the test result was ‘boy’.”
Originating from China, Cambodia
Most of the gender test sticks advertised as imported from the US or France have actually come from China or Cambodia, from which they are brought into Vietnam in large quantities by cross-border traders.
Most of the products do not show an origin or directions for use on their packaging.
Buyers can find them in front of obstetrics hospitals or consulting rooms, pharmaceutical markets, or pharmacies in Hanoi, HCMC and a number of central and southeastern provinces.
Le Quang Thanh, director of the Tu Du Obstetrics Hospital in HCMC, told Tuoi Tre that he only recently heard about gender test sticks and affirmed that it is illegal to trade or use such products in Vietnam.
“The disclosure of a fetus’ gender is banned in Vietnam, so we will carry out checks to detect such products. Any pharmacies or other places selling them will be strictly punished,” said Pham Kim Binh, deputy chief inspector of the HCMC Health Department.
In a related development, Nguyen Viet Cuong, chief inspector of the Hanoi Health Department, said it recently fined Dr D.T.C, who owns the Viet Phap General Clinic, VND14.5 million ($700) for illegally selling gender test sticks to pregnant women.
The clinic, located at 112 Mai Dich Street, Cau Giay District, advertised the sticks, sold for VND1 million each, on raovat.com, Gia Dinh & Xa Hoi (Family & Society) newspaper quoted Cuong as saying.