New Contraception for men to turn their fertility on and off.

Now a new contraceptive has been developed for men, meaning that many who may once have chosen a vasectomy have an alternative; a new invention, a "sperm switch" known as Bimek SLV. It lets men take control of their fertility themselves by just flicking a switch.  

 

Clemens Bimek, a German inventor came up with the idea of a sperm switch 20 years ago, when he was inspired whilst watching a documentary about contraceptives. He then looked into the matter and found that no-one had developed anything like it, so he decided to try and develop it himself. 

 

The switch allows men to turn the flow of sperm from their testicles on and off whenever they want by flicking a switch that has been placed in the scrotum. Bimek says that his new contraceptive method will completely revolutionise contraception for men. It will most likely also change the world of contraceptives for women, as some may prefer to stop their usual contraceptive method and have their male partner take control of their fertility.

At first, experts laughed at Bimek's idea:

“Many of the doctors I consulted didn’t take me seriously. But there were some who encouraged me to go on tinkering and helped me with their expertise,”

 

How it works: 

Tiny valves about an inch long, weighing less than a tenth of an ounce are surgically implanted into the vas deferens, the tube which transports the sperm. With a simple switch just under the skin of the scrotum, the man can flick it on and off. The operation takes only 30 minutes.

According its website, the advantage of this contraceptive method is that it is lifelong and hormone-free, not forgetting to mention reversible. This is a huge leap from the permanent procedure, the vasectomy. 

 

It also says that with this contraceptive, men have more freedom on deciding when they want to be fertile and when they don't.

 

"Male contraception quite often means getting a vasectomy. It’s a difficult decision to make. What if you’re not quite finished planning your family? With us, there’s no need to ask this question. The Bimek SLV allows you to be sterile when you want to. The switch that toggles your fertility is controlled by you. You decide.”

 

So far only the inventor himself has implanted the device into his reproductive organ. But, not that the switch has finished being developed, there are plans to implant it into 25 men this year.

 

What do you think about the sperm switch?