By Kierra Enns (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: October 2, 2013
How is it possible to render a man sterile without a vasectomy?
With a simple injection.
A new procedure currently under FDA trial in the United States, which works as a reversible male birth control method. Is it time to get excited? Absolutely.
The procedure works by injecting a polymer into the vas deferens (the tube through which sperm travels during ejaculation), which acts as a spermicide, deactivating sperm so it is unable to fertilize an egg. The procedure, known as RISUG (reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance), has been under human trial in India since 1989.
Compared to a vasectomy, in which the vas deferens is cut and cauterized, this is a less invasive procedure which would take about 15 minutes. A RISUG injection is effective up to 10 years after the initial treatment, but is also reversible by means of another injection, which would flush out the polymer remaining in the vas deferens.
A man could choose during college, for example, to have the procedure done and would not have to worry about birth control for another 10 years. Additionally, as RISUG does not block flow through the vas deferens the way a vasectomy does, there would be no pressure issues or granulomas – the two main side effects of vasectomies.
Birth control for men could be considered the Holy Grail of contraceptive options. Until recently, a man hasn’t had many options between the patchy effectiveness of condoms and the permanence of a vasectomy.
Often, birth control is the responsibility of women as many options are available to them (the pill, the shot, cervical rings, and IUDs) whereas there haven’t been many for men. The benefit of vasalgel is that men would be able to share responsibility for birth control.
RISUG procedures would be more cost-effective for couples in long-term relationships than the pill or condoms – according to the creators of RISUG, the injection costs less than the syringe used to administer it. Although that cost might be marked up by pharmaceutical companies in North America, a long-term form of birth control would still cost far less than short-term options which have to be renewed on a regular basis.
Vasalgel could also be a birth control method for couples where the woman is unable to take regular birth control. For women who have certain blood-clotting disorders for example, it’s dangerous to take the pill. And the cost of a Depo-Provera shot every three months adds up over the long term to a shocking total.
Given the benefits of RISUG, why aren’t we clamouring for this procedure in North America? For one, most people are unaware male contraceptive procedures are even being developed.
The procedure was invented in India by a doctor named Sujoy K. Guha, and vasalgel is currently under trial in the United States for FDA approval. The FDA has exceptionally high standards for product safety, partly because of its mandate to protect the public from any dangerous medication, and additionally due to the North American stance toward lawsuits. While defective products trigger class-action lawsuits in Canada and the United States, such legal action is less likely in India. Whether the FDA approves this product in the United States will likely indicate whether Canadian males will be able to use this contraceptive measure.
One major downside to vasalgel is that it does not decrease risk of STI (sexually transmitted infection). Unless you’re in a monogamous relationship in which STI is not a concern you will still have to use a condom, so vasalgel’s target market will likely be married or common-law couples.
We might have to wait until vasalgel and other similar procedures appear on the North American market, but when they do, they will be an exciting, reliable player on the field of birth-control options – for the boys!
