l. j. le vann presented an even more peculiar type of case to the board, which ultimately approved it 30 times. in his private research, le vann studied spermatogenesis in the testicles of boys with down's syndrome. to supply his research with tissue samples, the medical director ordered not only vasectomies but also orchidectomies of males with down's syndrome. this practice was carried out although it was already known within the medical community at the time that males with trisomy 21 are sterile. also, the board which consented the procedure included margaret thompson, one of the leading medical geneticist in canada at the time.