The sperm switch - a new fertility device for men
A German carpenter has invented an on-off contraception switch for men - allowing them to become temporarily infertile at the flick of a switch. It's a device that may revolutionalise contraception.
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The device consists of tiny valves that weigh very little and are attached to the ducts that carry sperm from the testicles. The valves can be turned on and off by a switch that a man can press under the skin of his scrotum.
Just this simple flick of a switch can stop sperm flowing from the testes, making him temporarily infertile.
So far Clemens Blemek, the inventor, is the only man who has had the device fitted - in a simple half-hour operation. However, the device will be fitted in 25 men in a trial this year.
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Hartwig Bauer, the urologist who carried out the surgery, told Spiegel magazine that he thought the device was preferable to a vasectomy, saying, "A third of patients want to have the (vasectomy) operation reversed later, but it doesn’t always work."
Some doctors have expressed concerns, however, that the valves may cause scarring and affect sperm flow even when the valves are opened up again, later on.
The sperm switch is still under development, with funding and backers being sought.
Could this be the next big thing? What do you think about finding ways for men to have more control over contraception?
