Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for science fiction and fantasy enthusiasts. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
In The Phantom Menace, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, during his conversation with Anakin Skywalker's mother, says:
Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early. The Force is unusually strong with him.
How could the Jedi have done that? Do they have a midi-chlorian count for every newborn forwarded to them?
In Legends, taking a midi-chlorian test was apparently a common part of early childhood care on planets within the Republic:
Although the method by which the ancient Jedi detected potential Force-users was almost lost to time, records indicate that the Jedi—shortly after the battle of Ruusan—either discovered or rediscovered the existence of midi-chlorians, microscopic life-forms that reside within all living cells and communicate with the Force to reveal its will. Midi-chlorians can be detected by a simple blood test, and a high midi-chlorian count indicates great potential as a Jedi. The Great Holocron confirms that the Jedi relied upon this blood-analysis method up until the Jedi Purge.
While some beings considered it an honor to have their child become a member of the Jedi Order, others likened the Jedi to baby snatchers. However, records indicate that most parents—after being educated about the myriad risks and responsibilities of raising Force-sensitive children—were genuinely relieved to relinquish their offspring to the resourceful Jedi.
(Source: Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force, page 57)
Addressed in The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force.
Most of you came to the Temple as infants. Locating Force-strong newborns is a straightforward process, at least within the Republic's borders. Mandatory blood tests performed at birth record the concentration of midi-chlorians in an infant's cells, and positive results are forwarded to the Jedi Temple for follow-up.
Because midi-chlorian analysis is not always definitive - particularly among older children or beings with unusual physiologies - special tools or puzzles may be employed instead. These include the testing screen, a tool that records a subject's ability to read minds or view images remotely, and the mental maze, a test that demonstrates whether a subject can use rudimentary telekinesis.
