SRY Gene Test Screening

News: The International Olympic Committee mandated SRY gene screening and banned transgender women and DSD athletes from female categories to ensure fairness and safety.

About SRY Gene Test Screening

• Sex-determining Region Y (SRY) gene test screening is a DNA-based test that detects the presence of the sex-determining region Y gene.
• The SRY gene is a segment of DNA that is almost always on the Y chromosome, signalling the presence of testes/testicles and initiating male sex development by the production of testosterone.
• Developed by: The SRY gene was first discovered in 1990 by Andrew Sinclair.
• Objective: The objective is to protect the female category in elite sports by ensuring that athletes do not have physiological advantages linked to male development.
• Function: The test works by collecting a saliva sample, analyzing DNA for the SRY gene.
• Duration: The analysis process typically takes about one week for the results to be issued and submitted to the relevant international sports body.
• Key features
  • Once-in-a-Lifetime Test: The screening is required only once because the SRY gene remains fixed throughout life.
  • Indicator of biological development: The SRY gene is treated as a reliable sign of whether an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development.
  • Limited scope of application: It applies only to elite international athletes and not to grassroots or leisure sports.
  • Exceptions for rare conditions: Athletes with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS) and other rare XY DSD (Differences in Sex Development) that do not benefit from the anabolic and/or performance-enhancing effects of testosterone would be eligible to compete in female category.