Vasectomies Produce Abnormal Sperm

A new study has found that men who have a vasectomy reversed are more likely to have genetically defective sperm, potentially lowering fertility and influencing the health of their children.

Researchers at Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand) tested 21 sperm samples from 18 men and found that 3.3% of their sperm had genetic defects, including abnormally high rates of chromosomal defects called sexual aneuploidies. The defects mean that the sperm are also not able to swim as well, making conception less likely. The researchers concluded that a vasectomy, even if it is reversed, makes men ten times more likely to produce sperm with chromosomal abnormalities. Lead author Prof. Nares Sukcharoen believes that a pressure build-up in the vas deferens, disrupting the normal production of sperm in men who have had vasectomies, is the cause of the defects. The research findings were presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), held in June 2006 in Prague (Czech Republic).

Sexual aneuploidies are defects when sperm have an extra X or Y chromosome, which cause a number of medical conditions in children, such as Klinefelter syndrome, in which boys are born with an extra X chromosome and often develop abnormally proportioned bodies and experience learning difficulties. Another, rarer condition is found in Triple X syndrome, which affects around one in 2,000 girls, and is caused by sperm carrying two X chromosomes instead of the usual one. It can lead to women developing symptoms such as seizures and infertility.

The researchers recommend that men considering a vasectomy freeze some of their sperm before undergoing the procedure.



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