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Why Does Helix Ask For My Biological Sex?

This article assists in addressing transexual or gender fluid customer concerns.

Biological Sex

During registration, Helix will ask you to provide the biological sex of the person providing the DNA sample. This is an important piece of information used by the lab during final quality control tests. 
 

Biological Sex VS Gender

Helix understands that there are many genders beyond male or female and respects a person's right to identify as they choose. 

With regards to sequencing, Helix asks for biological sex as it pertains to a person's DNA. If a person was born a male then they have X and Y sex chromosomes. If the person was born a female, they have 2 X sex chromosomes. 
 

Why Is Biological Sex Important?

Helix uses your self reported biological sex for quality control purposes. To ensure the accuracy of our testing, the lab will cross-reference your reported biological sex with the sequence data.

This information ensures that nothing has gone wrong during the sequencing process. Any discrepancies may result in delays or possibly the failure of a DNA sample.  

If the information does not match, Helix may reach out to verify that we have the correct information.