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Bernard Dingeon, PhD
Chambery, France

JAMA. 1993;269(3):357.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—In 1988,I was given responsibility for gender verification at the Albertville Winter Olympic Games. I was invited to the International Athletic Foundation Workshop in Monaco where I explained the advantages of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) gender verification and presented preliminary findings.¹ Despite the distinguished reputation of Drs Ljungqvist and Simpson, I refused to add my signature to their conclusions, published in JAMA.²

I could not agree that PCR controls "seem especially hazardous in the setting of sports competition." Our own experience and the opinion of other authors^3,4 now enable us to state that PCR is perfectly suited to, and economically compatible with, the constraints of the Olympic Games.

Our purpose was to improve the reliability of the verification method. Polymerase chain reaction provides a screening test that "assess[es] the sex of individuals very adquately" in over 99% of those enjoying perfect health.

The International . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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