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Men can now ‘switch off’ their sperms during sex

Relationships

Somewhere in the world right now, there is a man who is about to make a lady pregnant unintentionally. Reason? When the man’s ‘switch’ goes on and he’s got to come, the man has to come! I know some of you can pose the inevitable question, “Kwani he doesn’t know that sex can lead to a pregnancy?”

Frankly, the truth is we actually don’t. This is why some German nerd may be onto something with the discovery of the ultimate switch.

Have you heard of Bimek SLV; the so-called sperm switch? The device apparently allows men to block sperm from mixing with semen before ejaculation. So, a man can actually do what he has to do without fear or worry that he’ll be adding another digit to the world’s population.  Bimek SLV is reputed to offer men the freedom to decide whether to have a child with just the push of a button. The beauty of it is that you don’t have to resort to the permanent option of vasectomy.

The company that manufactures this tiny gadget may easily have its way with the European market where liberalism is the norm. What of Africa? “In this part of the world, I highly doubt if they will have a market,” says Dr Wachira Murage of Savannah Healthcare Services.

Dr Murage who is an obstetrician/gynaecologist, has practiced for years, but he highly doubts if men on the continent will take up the ‘contraception.’ “Vasectomy is quite a success in Europe. In Africa, the uptake is close to zero per cent. Since this new gadget may mimic, to a great extent, vasectomy, it may not achieve much traction,” observed the doctor.

Are our men afraid of contraception?

Dr Murage does not think so. He notes that the taking of contraception by men borders on the taboo in many African societies. But still, contraception for men is quite narrowed to a few options, compared to what is at the disposal of women. This, Dr Murage adds, is because it is easier to interrupt a woman’s ovulation cycle than interfere with sperm production.

“It would be hard to do the same in men because sperm production is continuous throughout a man’s life. It is not a cycle that can be interrupted at some point,” he explains. Dr Murage says it may be difficult to find women-like contraception for men because hormonal treatments may mean interfering with the whole nature of being a man and “disrupting testosterone levels in his blood stream.” As for intrauterine devices (IUDs), there is simply no anatomy in men to allow anything to be inserted into the body.

Back to Bimek. Is it a possibility? Yes, the doctor believes so. It may however need foolproof trials to be first conducted in the market. One thing is for sure though, while the gadget can prevent pregnancy, it offers no defence against sexually transmitted infections. And you may still need a condom to keep your health; which may still not be 100 per cent effective.

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