Forget the condom, take a shot instead

FOR those scared of needles and know of Lorena Bobbit, it8217;s not a comforting sight. A thick, long needle packed with a sinister looking...

FOR those scared of needles and know of Lorena Bobbit, it8217;s not a comforting sight. A thick, long needle packed with a sinister looking gun-like syringe. But an insight into what this device can achieve, or rather prevent, will force a rethink. And the sole credit for inventing this first ever injectible male contraceptive goes to Professor Sujoy K. Guha, whose three decade-long effort has finally borne fruit.

Today, the 60-year-old professor is a very satisfied man. He has reason to be so. Even before the completion of clinical trials, Health Minister C.P. Thakur introduced the contraceptive to the nation last week. Guha8217;s brainchild, the Reversible Inhibition of Spermatozoa Under Guidance, or simply the RISUG, is now a national property, with the health ministry incorporating it in several centres even before the results of the third phase of clinical trials on human subjects are out.

So what is so special about the RISUG? After all, there are other contraceptives available for men. And it doesn8217;t even protect one against sexually transmitted diseases.

The first indication of its importance is the belligerence with which Health Ministry officials defend it against any perceived criticism. 8216;8216;It is an important landmark on our way to offering a wide range of options to people. These are the weapons with which we fight population growth,8217;8217; says an official. And what8217;s more, they say, it is the first indigenous male contraceptive that has attracted so much world attention.

Above all, RISUG8217;s speciality lies in its efficacy. From the time of injection, RISUG8217;s effect lasts for over 10 years. In contrast to women8217;s birth control pills, RISUG is not accompanied by any hormonal changes. And as a bonus, the effect is completely reversible.

Guha stumbled upon the idea of using a chemical compound to counter male fertility during one of the various rural development projects that he worked on early in his academic career. 8216;8216;It was a project to purify ground water extracted through handpumps. Most of these handpumps are very shallow and sometimes, the water gets contaminated by sewage. We used Styrene Maleic Anhydride SMA to destroy bacteria in the water. At that time, it occurred to me that the same compound could be used for other purposes too,8217;8217; says the diminutive, soft-spoken professor.

That was in 1972. That very year, Guha started working on the possibility of using SMA for 8216;8216;other purposes8217;8217;. It has been a long journey since then 8212; one where he had to overcome the bureaucratic apathy, academic rivalry and doubts about the efficacy of his invention through sheer perseverance. The result: a transparent compound that, when injected into the vas deferens 8212; the male reproductive duct, destroys the sperms.

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Interestingly, Guha shows no interest in marketing his product on a large scale. 8216;8216;I don8217;t want to get into this whole business of marketing. The government has taken responsibility. They will be introducing the product,8217;8217; he says with typical academic irreverence for the market.

Already, the contraceptive is being offered in selective centres at Jaipur, Udhampur, Ludhiana and Coimbatore. With a price tag of about Rs 100, it is a small investment for 10 years. As Guha explains, the cost of any product depends on the amount spent on its research. 8216;8216;As the government has contributed to research and distribution of this contraceptive, the actual cost has come down quite a lot,8217;8217; he points out.

And even if the syringe may look scary, what is worth mentioning is the fact that it just requires a tiny skin puncture. Within minutes, one can walk away with only a small bandage as reminder. Any takers?