200 men undergo vasectomy following family planning campaign: Marie Stopes
A signboard at the Kenya national theatre on November 18, 2016.
About 200 Kenyan men underwent vasectomy during a five-day campaign to create awareness about the procedure.
Vasectomy is a permanent contraception for men who desire not to have more children in the future.
As the World Marks World Vasectomy Day on November 18, 2022, Marie Stopes Kenya (MSK) said that 400 men had inquired about vasectomy, and more than 250 booked for these services.
“By the end of the campaign (November 14-18, 2022), MSK managed to successfully counsel and provide approximately 200 clients with vasectomy services through our qualified medical practitioners,” the organisation said.
Vasectomy is done through a puncture or small incision in the scrotum, through which the vas deferens are cut, tied or blocked to prevent sperm from entering the urethra, hence preventing fertilisation of a woman during sexual intercourse. Men are still able to ejaculate semen but it will not contain sperm.
According to the Family Planning/Costed Implementation Plan Task Force report, over 86 percent of married women who reported a desire to limit future births in Kenya were using either short-term contraceptive methods or no method at all.
Though the use of permanent contraception methods is relatively high in this population (8 percent) in Kenya compared to other African nations, nearly all are female sterilization, which is more invasive compared to vasectomy.
Marie Stopes also said that in the first nine months of 2022, it performed 325 vasectomy procedures and 1,912 bilateral tubal ligations (BTLs)--a permanent contraception method for women.
Injectables, which have a high rate of discontinuation due to side effects, represent 42 percent of the contraceptives used by this population. Vasectomy offers a lifetime of contraceptive protection without fear of side effects.
The United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) states on its website that reversing a vasectomy, which involves rejoining the sperm-carrying tubes that were cut or blocked during a vasectomy, does not have a high success rate and there is no guarantee that the man's fertility will return.
“It is estimated that the success rate of a vasectomy reversal is 75 per cent if you have it done within three years, up to 55 per cent after three to eight years, between 40 per cent and 45 per cent after nine to 14 years, 30 per cent after 15 to 19 years and less than 10 per cent after 20 years,” the site reveals.
These figures are based on the number of couples who successfully have a baby after the man has had a vasectomy reversal. Pregnancy rates also depend on the female partner's fertility and are lower if she is 40 or older.
“In some cases, pregnancy still may not happen after a vasectomy reversal, even when there's sperm in your semen. This is because your sperm may be less mobile after the procedure than they were before,” the NHS states.
The cost of vasectomy in Kenya varies, and ranges from Sh15,000 to Sh150,000.
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