Thoughts on the proposed male birth control vasogel? And your thoughts on pills that keep you from getting your period for three months? Any advice for women who want to take it?
What an INTERESTING topic - Thanks for bringing it up!
What is VASOGEL?: A male contraceptive that was developed by a Doctor in India in the 1970’s. You may have heard of it as RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance). It was developed as a “upgrade” to the traditional vasectomy because it is completely reversible.
HOW does it work?: A polymer (a gel) is injected into the vas deferens (the channel that transports sperm from the epididymis to the ejaculatory ducts in anticipation of ejaculation), coating the walls and killing the sperm as they go by. The procedure involves one shot and takes about 15 minutes. The traditional form a male contraception is a vasectomy which cuts the vas deferens and therefore is very difficult to reverse (see illustration below). If/when a one desires fertility to be restored, the polymer is flushed out of the vans with another infection. This can take place within months or years and fertility is completely restored within 2-3 months. Vasogel is known to work for at least 10 years.
Here’s a video depiction of how it works: (It’s from a few years ago, so I don’t think the release dates at the end are accurate)
Why haven’t we heard more about VASOGEL?: Oh, politics! Vasogel is currently only available in India near its original testing site. It seems awesome right!? Completely reversibly, no hormones, for once the person with the egg doesn’t also have to be in only person in charge of not getting pregnant. YAY!! I can’t say for sure, but many sources I’ve read allude to the argument that we haven’t seen/heard of of this contraception sooner because there’s no BIG Pharma $$$ in a cheap, long-term form of contraception.
There are whispers of plans to bring it to the U.S. and Canada. The Parsemus Foundation is a non-profit working to bring Vasogel to the market. Their website reports that clinical trials on humans (rabbits have been completely successful) are planned to begin sometime this year!
cheers! Amanda