World Vasectomy Day has brought together 750 doctors in 25 countries around the world to sterilize thousands of men in a global vasectomy-thon encouraging and supporting men that take a bigger role in family planning on Friday, according to Yahoo.
Many of the operations are provided free or discounted to help those unwanted pregnancies before they ever happen. Officials estimate that four out of ten pregnancies are unwanted.
"In helping to shoulder responsibility for family planning, men become heroes to their partners, to their families and to our future," said event co-founder Jonathan Stack, according to the Daily Mail.
A vasectomy takes about 15-minutes and is performed under local anesthetic. The procedure severs the tubes that carry sperm from the testes to the penis, and then it seals the tubes, preventing the sperm from reaching the semen that's ejaculated. With no sperm in the semen, a woman's egg cannot be fertilized. The tiny incisions are stitched with dissolvable sutures which disappear in a week or so. The procedure may be a little uncomfortable, but not painful.
Thousands of men around the world to get sterilised for World Vasectomy Day https://t.co/kz6OPWVAZU pic.twitter.com/hSb1fMIzig
— The Straits Times (@STcom) November 13, 2015
Doug Stein, a prominent vasectomy doctor with over 30,000 vasectomies under his belt founded World Vasectomy Day, according to the Inquisitor, and explains "It seems to be a wonderful option for men who have had as many children as they want."
