In a world where women have pills, patches, implants, diaphragms and a slew of other hormone-laden products, it’s puzzling that we haven’t developed a reasonable non-barrier contraceptive for men.
MS. FUDGE’S SWEET NOTHINGSIn a world where women have pills, patches, implants, diaphragms and a slew of other hormone-laden products, it’s puzzling that we haven’t developed a reasonable non-barrier contraceptive for men.
Karl Kuchs/VANGUARD STAFf
Considering that condoms have an archaic ancestry—animal intestines used as a barrier—an updated form of contraceptive is necessary to enable men to have a higher level of responsibility in the area of birth control.
There is one. It’s just not available yet. When will it be? Maybe 2015.
Indian researcher Sujoy Kumar Guha developed a male contraceptive method that’s reported to be both 100 percent effective and completely reversible in test subjects.
It’s called RISUG, an acronym for the long-winded name Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance. Guha has been working on RISUG for decades, and the research is currently in the third phase of clinical trials in India.
Essentially, RISUG is a polymer that’s inserted directly into the vas deferens. Much like a vasectomy, a patient goes in for a 15-minute outpatient procedure in which a small incision is made on both sides of the scrotum. Unlike a vasectomy, however, a shot of clear liquid is injected—no snipping involved.
The nontoxic polymer coats the vas deferens and chemically debilitates sperm as they pass by. Patients who’ve undergone this procedure then become azoospermic, meaning they don’t have viable sperm.
As horribly uncomfortable as that all sounds, the side effects are reportedly milder than a vasectomy, with only some initial swelling that recedes within a week or so. The best part of RISUG, though, is not how quickly it can be done or the surprisingly limited side effects.
The best parts: It’s reported 100 percent efficacy, easy reversibility, and how long it lasts—up to a whopping 10 years.
To put that in perspective, the only current, similarly effective contraceptive for men is sterilization through a vasectomy, which is rarely reversible. Well, that and abstinence, but most people, for some reason or another, aren’t very fond of that one.
Having an option for long-term reversible and effective male contraception is a pretty big breakthrough. For many men, the permanence of a vasectomy isn’t attractive, leaving less effective methods like condoms and withdrawal as poor alternatives that can lead to unfortunate or unintentional side effects.
Despite the potential of his research and the positive results he’s had, Guha has faced difficulty getting his groundbreaking research accepted.
The third phase of the testing started back in 2000, but when a new health minister took office, trials were halted to retest toxicology reports. Shortly thereafter, Guha hit the mandatory retirement age and had to leave his post at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi.
Elaine Lissner, a Stanford graduate interested in Guha’s work but frustrated with its sluggish progress, started the Parsemus Foundation in 2009 and then bought the rights for RISUG in 2010.
The foundation renamed the procedure Vasalgel and is currently recreating Guha’s work. Despite decades of research in India, the Food and Drug Administration requires that the research be redone in its entirety, meaning that the team has to start from the very beginning.
Still, researchers hope that Vasalgel will be available to the U.S. market as early as 2015, though its future is still up in the air. Guha has voiced concerns that companies selling contraceptives are threatened by his long-lasting method and have tried to tarnish his research with misleading news reports.
While a global conspiracy by contraceptive companies might seem a bit far-fetched, finding backers for Vasalgel has proved difficult. The relatively low cost of the actual polymer paired with the infrequent need to administer it means that companies won’t be able to make much of a profit. And right now, profit is everything. Never mind how much good could come from the procedure.
Vasalgel promises to provide men with a more reliable form of birth control. It could be used with a condom to prevent sexually transmitted infections and would allow couples to go years without needing to worry about contraception.
The responsibility of birth control too frequently falls on women. With the many side effects associated with female contraceptives, it’s about time that men were allowed to share some of the burden.
