Soon men will be able to share the responsibility of using contraception. The trial for the first injectable male contraceptive is underway in East Melbourne. Here’s everything you need to know.
Trial begins for the world’s first male contraceptive
A total of 25 men will get to try hydrogel, the world’s first injectable male contraceptive. The trial is in progress at East Melbourne’s Epworth Freemasons Hospital. The ‘hydrogel’ will travel to the vas deferens, the tube carrying the sperm. Following this, it will obstruct the sperm from leaving the testes.
“In this instance, men would also be in control of their contraception and can enter into the fray which is often placed on their partner,” stated Professor Nathan Lawrentschuk, a Urologist and lead researcher. “You come into a medical center or hospital and have some local anesthetic injected, we then find the vas deferens tube (sperm duct) in much the same way that you would for a vasectomy,” explained Lawrentschuk.
More on the trial
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According to the researchers, the procedure takes 10 minutes and is effective for two years. After the period, it is expected to dissolve. Men can choose to undergo it again. They are also dubbing this method a “temporary vasectomy”. Additionally, the current study will determine if the gel is non-permanent. “Given this is only a two-year vasectomy, if you like, it’s much better and more likely to be reversible,” stated Liza O’Donnell. O’Donnel is a reproductive health scientist at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research.
Currently, there is a huge amount of gender bias among contraceptives available for men and women. “If the male hormonal contraceptives have been discovered before the female pill, it would have been supported. I just find the inequality striking,” added O’Donnell. If the trial is a success, it could be a huge “game changer” and help men in heterosexual relationships bear the responsibility.
