About 1% of men are Azoospermic or in other word, 1 in 100 men that do not have any sperm in their semen¹. They are able to ejaculate but no sperm is present in the semen. Hence, they are infertile.
If you have never caused a pregnancy but are considering a vasectomy, it is therefore important to see if you are fertile or not. There is no point having a vasectomy if you cannot cause a pregnancy in the first place. It is recommended that before you have a vasectomy, you should have a semen analysis to identify the presence or absence of sperm.
If no sperm are identified on initial counts, a second count should technically occur to confirm this. Vasectomy prevents sperm from entering the semen. If you are azoospermic, this has already occurred naturally for you and you do not need a vasectomy. There could be a number of causes for this which includes hormonal, genetic and anatomical issues. A number of other tests maybe performed to identify if further evaluation is required.
Men with oligospermia is have low sperm counts. This is defined as being less than the 5th percentile of fertile men or less than 15 million sperm/mL of semen. You may still cause a pregnancy and vasectomy may be appropriate.
Semen analysis can be organised through Dr Ranaweera or your usual doctor with either QML or Sullivan Niccolaides Pathology. The labs usually charge a fee for this service, but this is less expensive than potentially having a vasectomy when you do not need it. Dr Ranaweera has no affiliation with these pathology services.
This is what sperm under the microscope looks like
Cocuzza M, Alvarenga C, Pagani R. The epidemiology and etiology of azoospermia. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2013;68 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):15-26. doi: 10.6061/clinics/2013(sup01)03. PMID: 23503951; PMCID: PMC3583160.
If you have answered Yes, please continue to book a vasectomy consultation.
If you have answered No, there is a small chance that a vasectomy is unnecessary for you. It is best to book a bulk-billed consultation with Dr Ranaweera first to discuss your options.