World Vasectomy Day (WVD) is an annual event to raise global awareness of
vasectomy
Vasectomy, or vasoligation, is an elective surgical procedure for male sterilization or permanent contraception. During the procedure, the male vasa deferentia are cut and tied or sealed so as to prevent sperm from entering into the urethra and ...
as a male-oriented solution to prevent unintended pregnancies. The goal is for doctors all over the world to perform vasectomies, connected to the event via
Skype
Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...
and
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
platforms.
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History
WVD was founded in 2012 by the American film-maker
Jonathan Stack
Jonathan David Stack (born June 2, 1957) is an American documentary filmmaker. He is also a co-founder of World Vasectomy Day.
Biography
Born in New York City to a teacher and worker, Jonathan spent much of his childhood exploring. He took an e ...
while he was working on a documentary about the decision of having a vasectomy. The underlying goal was to involve men in family planning decisions and educate them about vasectomies as a simple way of taking responsibility for birth control.
In 2013, prolific vasectomist Dr
Douglas Stein was scheduled to perform vasectomies in front of an audience at the
Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) to launch the inaugural World Vasectomy Day with the world’s first
live-streamed
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...
vasectomy. Stein answered questions from a live audience in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and an international online audience.
The event's third edition was hosted by Indonesia in 2015; the fourth edition was centered in Kenya and featured a vasectomy broadcast live on Facebook.
On 17 November 2017, at its fifth anniversary, more than 1,200 vasectomists in more than 50 countries joined the event, making it the largest male-focused family planning event in history. The 2017 event's headquarter was located in Mexico.
References
{{reflist
External links
Official World Vasectomy Day website
International observances
Sterilization (medicine)
Contraception for males
Male genital surgery
November observances
Vasectomy