By: Paul Thompson
If you do not want to harm someone, why not just take the bullets out of the gun instead of shooting them while they wear a bulletproof vest? A new form of birth control is coming forth, taking this approach, and changing the game. This new birth control product is called Vasalgel and is being developed by the Parsemus Foundation. Vasalgel brings a new spin on birth control by being something that a male would take as opposed to a female.
Vasalgel is a gel, as stated in the name, that will be injected a man's vas deferens, which are the ducts that transport sperm, and it will block sperm that try to pass through. Vasalgel only requires a single treatment to be effective for 10 years, and it can also flushed out through another injection if the man decides that he wants kids before 10 years are up. It is currently being tested on baboons, and after 6 months of monitoring, no baboon has yet to be pregnant. Small human trials are expected to begin next year and larger trials are expected to begin in 2016. If all goes as planned, Vasalgel should be on the market for any male to have performed on him in 2017.
With Vasalgel being a one time treatment, the days of counting on women to remember to take a pill are numbered. This, however, could also be detrimental to Vasalgel's progress towards hitting the market. Female birth control is a multibillion dollar industry and potential funders see it as more profitable to fund female birth control pills, which have to be bought every month, rather than a gel that only has to be injected once every 10 years. Regardless of which side a person stands on, this is certainly an innovative idea that not only changes men's health but women's health as well. Birth control pills have listed side effects of irregular bleeding, high blood pressure, and depression. Not only would women's health improve, but the number of unintended pregnancies would decline. About half of all pregnancies are unwanted and the percentage only increases as the age of the woman lowers. The cost of Vasalgel is currently unknown. The Parsemus Foundation is aiming to make it as inexpensive as possible and projects it to cost no more than a flat screen tv. They are also looking into it possibly being covered by insurance companies.
Videos
Articles to read
http://www.parsemusfoundation.org/vasalgel-home/
I am uneasy about the concept of male birth control. I fully support increases in women's health; however, what unforeseeable liabilities will be incurred from this new product? Also, obtaining an injection that last ten years will certainly be costly, for it is, in fact, a ten year investment. The price of flushing the injection out with another substance may also be costly. Ten years is a very long time for a man to remain infertile--is this product truly useful for men in our population.
ReplyDeleteI believe this is a great idea for both men and women around the world because birth control is somewhat expensive and some times its not completely effective. If men became open to the option, I think vasalgel will lower the amount of unintended pregnancies.
ReplyDeleteIf they allow young men as early as fourteen years old to receive the infertility treatment, I am all for learning more about the product.
ReplyDeleteI think Vasalgel is a good idea if it is truly as effective as the scientist believe it is. However, I believe the duration of Vasalgel is to long. Ten years is far to long to be on any long term birth control plan because people may change their mind within ten years. A person is at a completely different stage in their life. I am also interested in the ages of males they are going to test.
ReplyDelete