The kindest cut: Thousands to be sterilised in global vasectomy-athon

Thousands of volunteers around the world are to be sterilised on Friday in a global vasectomy-athon to encourage men to take a bigger role in family planning. More than 3,000 men will have the procedure to mark World Vasectomy Day, with many operations being provided free or at discounted rates. The event is being supported by 750 doctors in 25 countries where organisers hope to combat resistance to having the operation.

In helping to shoulder responsibility for family planning, men become heroes to their partners, to their families and to our future

Event co-founder Jonathan Stack

At a ceremony in a temple on the Indonesian island of Bali, the headquarters for World Vasectomy Day this year, the first six men to undergo the procedure were presented to an audience before being taken outside to mobile health clinics to be sterilised. The men lay on an operating table in the clinics – buses fitted out with medical equipment – while doctors performed the short procedure. Vasectomies were also being carried out to mark the day in countries including India, the US and Spain.

It seems to be a wonderful option for men who have had as many children as they want

Vasectomy doctor Doug Stein

Health vasectomy day