Male Infertility A child of my own - Andrology Australia

APPENDICESVASECTOMYVasectomy shouldNOT be consideredreversible. Spermstorage (banking)however, doesoffer an ‘insurancepolicy’ to couplesconsideringvasectomyWhy is a vasectomy considered afertility problem?Vasectomy is a safe and effective way to stopcouples becoming pregnant. It should beconsidered permanent contraception. Almost onein three Australian men aged between 40 and 49years of age have had a vasectomy. Men planningto have a vasectomy should think about storingsperm before having this procedure. This mayremove the possible need for a vasectomy reversalin the future.Vasectomy involves cutting and removing asection of the vas deferens, the tube that carriessperm from the testis to the urethra at the base ofthe bladder.Only a small percentage of the large number ofmen having had a vasectomy each year will, atsome time, want to have more children. However,this still means that each year many hundreds ofthese men will think about surgical reversal of thevasectomy or fertility options such as IVF.Vasectomy reversal surgery can be difficult due tothe small size of the tubes that need to be joinedback together and often does not enable couplesto become pregnant naturally. If sperm have beenstored before the vasectomy, a female partner canbe inseminated at the time of ovulation (the fertiletime of a woman’s menstrual cycle).MALE INFERTILITY 84