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Ambrose Li

A business claiming to offer fetal gender testing is advertising for delivering blood samples from mainland China to Hong Kong as of Thursday, despite city health authorities warning that such services require prior approval, the Post has learned.
According to its website, HK LongKang DNA can provide testing services from as early as four weeks of pregnancy with a 99.995 per cent accuracy rate.
The company charges HK$3,000 (US$385) for testing at the six-week mark, with same-day appointments available and a six-hour wait for the report.
But the website did not include an address for the company, instead instructing customers to contact it via WhatsApp or WeChat.
It did note that blood samples collected on the mainland would be sent to two Hong Kong-based laboratories – Medtimes Medical and RoxyDNA.
The website’s “about us” section had a one-minute video that introduces Medtimes Medical, with the page also including addresses for the laboratory.
In a reply to the Post, the laboratory said it was not affiliated with HK LongKang DNA and did not provide any services for the company.
A Post reporter also approached HK LongKang DNA via WhatsApp posing as a customer and was assured of “smooth arrangements” for transporting blood samples from Shenzhen to Hong Kong to Medtimes Medical laboratories.
The mainland currently bans fetal gender testing for non-medical purposes, prompting parents who want to know the gender of their babies in advance to seek out such services elsewhere.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health said two Hong Kong-based companies – NovaGene Diagnostic Laboratory and Zentrogene Bioscience Laboratory – had falsely claimed in social media posts to be “medical laboratories accredited by the [department]”.
The two companies were linked to the suspected illegal importation of blood samples from the mainland for fetal gender testing.
The department said it learned of the case after receiving inquiries about social media posts about arranging blood draws for pregnant mainland women, with the relevant information sent to the Medical Laboratory Technologists Board for “appropriate actions”.

Under the mainland’s one-child policy, such tests were popular among parents with a preference for boys over girls and led to sex-selective abortions in some cases. Beijing increased the threshold to two children per family in 2016 before raising it to three in 2021.
Discussing the suspected smuggling case, Alex Li Wai-chun, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Medical Laboratories, said blood samples stored in specific containers could stay intact at room temperature for a week or so.
But he added that there was no way of telling the exact conditions under which the allegedly smuggled samples were handled.
He noted that while fetal gender testing was not allowed on the mainland, it was available in Hong Kong and could also reveal potential disabilities.
“Those who carry out medical tests on samples without a doctor’s referral, or on samples brought into the city via illegal means, could be contravening medical laboratory technologists’ regulations,” he said.
Li pointed out that while transporting blood to Hong Kong for testing was not a new phenomenon, he suspected that laboratories conducting such tests could be doing them in bulk, which would mean significant revenue.
“Given that it could be illegal and it is against one’s conscience, no one would be doing it if it were not profitable. They know full well that gender testing is linked to gender selection,” he said.
Li said that while the mainland allowed couples to have three children, whether the parents had the means to do so was another concern that could have contributed to the continued use of testing in Hong Kong.
The Post has reached out to the Department of Health, HK LongKang DNA and RoxyDNA for comment.
The department said a person must obtain prior written permission to import excreta, secretion, blood or blood components if they suspect it contains an infectious agent.
Anyone importing such items without permission faces a maximum fine of HK$5,000 and up to two months’ imprisonment.


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Are Hong Kong labs offering cross-border gender tests despite warning?

Mainland China currently bans fetal gender testing for non-medical purposes, prompting parents who want to know the gender of their babies in advance to seek out such services elsewhere. Photo: Getty Images

The Department of Health has said that a person must obtain prior written permission to import excreta, secretion, blood or blood components if they suspect it contains an infectious agent. Photo: Handout

2 Hong Kong labs linked to suspected cross-border smuggling of blood samples

Under Hong Kong law, lab technologists cannot perform tests for medical diagnosis or treatment without a referral from a registered medical practitioner or other specified healthcare professional. Photo: Getty Images

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News

Hong Kong

Health & Environment

Health authorities earlier named 2 Hong Kong-based companies linked to alleged smuggling of blood samples for gender testing


Health authorities earlier named 2 Hong Kong-based companies linked to alleged smuggling of blood samples for gender testing.


China

Hong Kong Medical Association

US Department of Health and Human Services

Are Hong Kong labs offering cross-border gender tests despite warning?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Health authorities earlier named 2 Hong Kong-based companies linked to alleged smuggling of blood samples for gender testing

Health authorities earlier named 2 Hong Kong-based companies linked to alleged smuggling of blood samples for gender testing