Is Ouabain the Key to Male Birth Control? | Minneapolis & St. Paul

Posted on November 11, 2018

A safe, oral contraceptive pill for men has yet to be made available, but recent research on ouabain, an ancient African arrow poison, may be the key to developing the ever elusive male birth control.

Led by a small team of scientists from the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development at the University of Minnesota, the search for a non-hormonal male birth control pill ultimately zeroed in on the toxic substance known as ouabain. Found in two types of African plants, ouabain was traditionally used as poison on hunting arrows and is sometimes medically used to treat heart arrhythmias.

In addition to disrupting ion-transporting proteins in cardiac tissue, ouabain is known to affect a transporter subunit found only in sperm cells, an integrin called α4. Because α4 plays a major role in male fertility, research has focused on developing an ouabain-based contraceptive that would specifically bind to the α4 protein and disrupt sperm motility.

This newly created derivative compound, designed to target α4 proteins in sperm cells, has successfully interfered with the cells’ ability to swim and fertilize eggs—without any signs of toxicity when tested on rats. Moreover, the contraceptive effect should, hypothetically, also be reversible since the α4 protein is only found in mature sperm cells.

While there’s still plenty of testing left to do before this pill hits the market, current studies have been extremely promising. The University of Minnesota researchers plan to test the effectiveness of their ouabain-based compound in animal mating trials before moving on to toxicology and safety pharmacology studies. If all goes well, human clinical trials may launch within five years.

A safe, reversible male birth control pill is clearly within reach!

A Brief History of the Eugenics Movement in America | Minneapolis & St. Paul

Posted on August 26, 2018

If you haven’t heard of eugenics (meaning “well-born”), it is the study of or belief in societal and scientific intervention to bring about the “fittest” population through means such as forced sterilization, abortions, euthanasia and discriminatory marriage laws. The movement’s intent was to improve the quality of the human population by discouraging reproduction by people with genetic defects or what were thought to be inheritable undesired traits.

The origin of eugenics in the United States began in 1899 with Albert Ochsner, future Professor of Surgery at the University of Illinois. In his published paper Surgical Treatment of Habitual Criminals, Ochsner described a new procedure that sterilized a male subject by cutting his vas deferens, a procedure that became known as a vasectomy. He advocated for the use of vasectomies on criminals, believing that:

It would dispense with hereditary criminals from the father’s side

Aside from being sterile, the criminal would be unchanged (unlike after castration)

It would protect the community at large without harming the criminal

The height of the eugenics movement (1920s to mid-20th century) saw compulsory sterilization programs established in over 30 states, resulting in over 60,000 sterilizations of often healthy people. Criminals and prison inmates were especially targeted, as well as those deemed “feeble-minded,” mentally deficient, or simply capable of passing on undesirable genes.

Planned Parenthood, a global reproductive health care provider, was actually a product of the eugenics movement. Its founder, Margaret Sanger, was a prominent eugenicist who argued that this “new weapon of civilization and freedom” could solve “race problems” and result in “racial regeneration.” This belief in ensuring “racial purity” typically involved laws that aimed to prevent interracial marriage, taking the concept of eugenics and population control another step further.

If any of this sounds familiar, history’s most infamous admirer of America’s eugenics policies was Adolf Hitler, who modeled the Third Reich after American eugenic institutions. As he expressed in Mein Kampf, Hitler was determined to prevent “defective people” from “propagating equally defective offspring,” a mission that he firmly believed required a systematic execution. In response, the American Eugenics Society issued a statement of praise in 1937 to the Nazi scientists who hoped to cleanse the gene pool.

Why don’t More Men in the World Get Vasectomies? | Minnesota

Posted on February 7, 2018

Vasectomies have the potential to be a powerful tool to curb population. By nature, they serve as a more effective, long-term solution than other methods of contraception. The procedure is a one time ordeal, as opposed using a condom or birth control pill, and avoids the negative side effects of hormonal birth control for women while have very few side effects itself. This could be especially effective in areas with low resources that have poor access to other contraceptives. However, despite being the most effective form of male contraception, only 2.4% of men use vasectomy worldwide. Why are vasectomies so unpopular? And how can we change that?

For one, many people are simply uninformed about vasectomy as a birth control method. Studies of vasectomy awareness in Ethiopian, Nigerian, and Turkish men and women range from a lowest of 15.6% to highest of 39.6%. This extends to doctors as well- many care providers in low resource areas are not well informed about vasectomy, and do not provide the service. This lack of awareness is a major barrier to making vasectomy a more popular form of birth control.

Another reason is negative attitudes toward vasectomy. Surveys showed that some participants felt that a vasectomy results in a loss of masculinity, or that they would be judged by others if they found out about the procedure. In India, men felt that a vasectomy would make them subservient to their wife, and that female sterilization is preferred because men contribute more economically (note that tubal ligation is far more invasive, costly, and dangerous that a vasectomy). These attitudes ultimately stem from deeply ingrained sexism. Getting rid of these erroneous notions would go a long way in making vasectomy more prevalent. In Africa, 0.1% of men have undergone vasectomies. Myths and misconceptions stop African men from going for a vasectomy, and vasectomy is often associated with de-masculinisation, framing it in terms of castration.

One of the most effective ways of both increasing awareness and correcting negative attitudes toward vasectomy is through education, both within the community and through mass communications. Programs such as the ACQUIRE Project’s “Get a Permanent Smile” campaign sought to address myths regarding vasectomies in low resource areas in Bangladesh and Ghana through posters, radio and television broadcasts. These types of campaigns are quite effective, and have been shown to cause spikes in demands for vasectomies.

Employer based promotion is another method of making vasectomies more popular. Once again education is key here. In one Indian study, employees from several workplaces were allowed to attend educational workshops on long acting birth control methods. Companies also trained health coordinators, provided health service desks, and providing a family planning hotline. Participants were reportedly more likely to discuss family planning, as well as make the switch from short-term contraceptives to long term ones. Incentivising employers to provide such services to their employees would encourage more men to get a vasectomy.

Vasectomies have been sorely underutilized as a form of contraception. It may be a long road ahead before worldwide adoption of vasectomy as a birth control method is reached, but as information becomes more widely available, more men will opt for vasectomies.

Free Large Pizza for the Vasectomy Patients on 11/17/2017, 5th World Vasectomy Day | Minnesota

Posted on November 14, 2017

On November 17th, World Vasectomy Day, the largest male-focused family planning event in history with over 1,200 providers in 50+ countries, takes the world on a historic 24-hour vasectomy-athon organized out of our headquarters in Mexico. We will e-travel from country to country conversing with vasectomy providers, advocates for male involvement in family planning and the men who choose a vasectomy as an act of love. WVD kicks off at 5:00 p.m. on November 16 with a joint ceremony taking place in Mexico City and on the island nation of Kiribati (where it will be 10 a.m. on Friday, November 17th). With conversations, live vasectomies and dozens of films, and in partnership with DKT Mexico, DKT International and the Centro Nacional de Equidad de Genero y Salud Reproductiva (National Center for Gender Equity and Reproductive Health), we will explore the current state of male involvement in family planning, learn about global efforts to make vasectomies accessible and celebrate men everywhere who have made the heroic decision to care for their families, communities and our planet. Join us!

It might seem odd to dedicate an entire day to vasectomies, but for Dr. Shu and the other 1,200 doctors participating in World Vasectomy Day on November 17, it’s an important event that spreads awareness on the most effective but underutilized methods of contraception: the vasectomy.

With industrialization and modern medicine making it safer and easier to give birth and raise children, the world population has skyrocketed- current projections predict the world population will plateau at 11 billion. High population puts a strain on resources like food, medicine, and energy. In many areas of the world that are seeing rapid population growth, sexual education and medical resources have not caught up to other areas in society. Vasectomies are excellent for family planning in areas that are not well developed and do not have the resources that most of us take for granted.

This will be Dr. Shu’s 5th year participating in the event, and the One Stop Medical Center will offer free large pizza.

Dr. Shu Performed 50 No-scalpel Vasectomies During His 2017 Haiti Mission | Minnesota

Posted on November 10, 2017

This is the third time that Dr. Shu participated in the Haiti mission through No Scalpel Vasectomy Inc. (NSVI), and it is also the fifth time that he participated in the international mission in the past three years.

From Oct 25 to Oct 28, NSVI conducted its 15th vasectomy mission in Haiti. Vasectomies were performed on 163 men (average age 43.8) who had had a total of 842 children. Dr. Shu performed about 50 vasectomies during this mission. While the average number of children per man (5.17) is still very high, we have seen a slight decrease over the last three missions. We may be seeing a greater percentage of men who accept vasectomy after 3 children, enabling themselves to nurture those children with more attention and better education even with their limited resources.

5th World Vasectomy Day | Minnesota

Posted on August 23, 2017

It might seem odd to dedicate an entire day to vasectomies, but for Dr. Shu and the other 1,000 doctors participating in World Vasectomy Day on November 17, it’s an important event that spreads awareness on the most effective but underutilized methods of contraception: the vasectomy.

At World Vasectomy Day, local Mexican and international doctors will provide free vasectomies, along with live-streamed interviews with family planning experts, patients, and their families. This will be Dr. Shu’s 5th year participating in the event, and the One Stop Medical Center will offer free large pizza.

This year’s World Vasectomy Day is being held in Mexico. Doctors around the world participating in World Vasectomy Day will provide as many vasectomies as possible in a span of 24 hours. The goal of World Vasectomy Day is to spread awareness of vasectomies and to dispel myths associated with them through community outreach and open dialogue.

289 Vasectomies were Performed in 2016 Haiti Missions | Minnesota

Posted on December 26, 2016

Dr.Shu went to Haiti for his 2016 Haiti mission in the end of October. This is the second time that Dr. Shu participated in the Haiti mission through No Scalpel Vasectomy Inc. (NSVI), and it is also the fourth time that he participated in the international mission in the past two years.

For the first time, in October 2016, two NSVI teams provided vasectomy procedures and training at two sites simultaneously in northern Haiti. Over four days, this enabled the team to provide vasectomies at five sites, visiting some sites on more than one day. Each team was composed of three international vasectomy experts and either an experienced Haitian vasectomist or a Haitian trainee. About 122 vasectomies were performed during the October mission alone. In total, 289 vasectomies were performed during the three Haiti missions of 2016.

Our “Guest Vasectomist” volunteers not only paid their own ways to Haiti, but also made generous donations to help cover NSVI expenses.
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From distant locations in North America, our vasectomists met the Floridians in Miami.
2016-team-met-miami-airport-2

NSVI team and Haiti physicians

2 Free Large Pizza on World Vasectomy Day on November 18th | Minnesota

Posted on September 25, 2016

For the fourth year in a row, Dr.Shu will be participating in World Vasectomy Day, an event that brings focus to the role men can take in family planning as responsible citizens of our planet. The vasectomies we are offering on World Vasectomy Day are part of a global effort. If you have the vasectomies done on November 18th, you will receive 2 free large pizza ($20 gift card).

Doctors in health clinics and medical offices around the globe will perform as many vasectomies as possible in one 24-hour period for World Vasectomy Day, Nov. 18th, 2016. The fourth annual event is designed to heighten awareness of and dispel myths about vasectomy, increase access to the procedure, and to inspire more men to become engaged in the global family planning conversation, above all.

On November 18, 2016 World Vasectomy Day will be headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya! with free vasectomies offered by the local providers in Nairobi and international trainers. They will be joined by 1000 vasectomists worldwide. The event will be live-streamed including interviews with family planning experts, patients and their family members.

Although most family planning specialists consider vasectomy the most effective permanent form of birth control available to men, there is still much resistance. Despite costing on average one-fifth as much as tubal ligation, not requiring general anesthesia or hospitalization, vasectomy is performed at less than half the rate of tubal ligation in the U.S. Worldwide, less than three percent of married women ages 15 to 49 rely on their partner’s vasectomy for contraception.

More information about World Vasectomy Day can be found at http://worldvasectomyday.org.

World Vasectomy Day, November 18, 2016 | Minnesota

Posted on September 15, 2016

For the 4th year in a row, Dr.Shu will be participating in World Vasectomy Day, an event that brings focus to the role men can take in family planning as responsible citizens of our planet. The vasectomies we are offering on World Vasectomy Day are part of a global effort.

WVD Doctors in health clinics and medical offices around the globe will perform as many vasectomies as possible in one 24-hour period for World Vasectomy Day, Nov. 18, 2016. The fourth annual event is designed to heighten awareness of and dispel myths about vasectomy, increase access to the procedure, and to inspire more men to become engaged in the global family planning conversation.

More information about World Vasectomy Day can be found at World Vasectomy Day.

2016 Philippine Mission – 454 Vasectomies in 7 Days | Minnesota

Posted on May 8, 2016

Dr. Shu participated in the 2016 Philippines Vasectomy Mission from February 23 to March 1. This was his third time participating in the NVSI’s international mission.

For the 2016 mission, physicians and support staff arrived from three continents and had more countries of origin than we could easily count. Dr.Shu was the only surgeon from Minnesota.

The whole team performed a total of 454 no scalpel vasectomies in the seven-day mission, and Dr. Shu performed at least 50 vasectomies by himself.

Phil-2016-Physicians-JohnAbano-JohnCurington-SarahMiller-JaySandlow-RobertKulik-NickDemediuk-StevenShu-RonWeiss

NSVI group after lectures at Southwestern University[/caption]

Dr. Shu participating in 2016 Philippine Vasectomy Mission | Minneapolis & St Paul

Posted on March 4, 2016

A group of doctors from the United States, Canada, Australia, Poland, will be going to the Philippines from February 21 to March 2nd, 2016 to provide free vasectomies for local residents. Minnesota physician Dr. Steven Shu, medical director of One Stop Medical Center, is participating in this mission. This is the third time that he has been part of an international vasectomy mission sponsored by the nonprofit organization, No Scalpel Vasectomy International Inc (NSVI). It is expected that more than 400 no scalpel vasectomies (NSV) will be done in the 8-day trip.

The NSV mission is sponsored by No Scalpel Vasectomy International Inc.(NSVI), which has been providing free NSV services since 2001. The mission of NSVI is to promote and provide free No-Scalpel Vasectomy services worldwide, but especially in developing countries whose infrastructure and environmental resources are challenged by rapid population growth unchecked by established and/or effective family planning programs.

Dr. Shu shares a passion with the vasectomy guru Dr. Doug Stein in Tampa, FL, promoting and providing no scalpel vasectomy (NSV) services worldwide. As an expert in office procedures in Minnesota, Dr. Shu has been enjoying making my contributions to local communities over the past 13 years. Since 2015, he has been focusing more on his international volunteer work in Philippines and Haiti..

Please feel free to steer a few of your philanthropic dollars toward NSVI. You probably already give to other organizations with top-heavy administrations who are strangers to you. What better gesture than to donate $45 to help a poor Haitian man (1) reduce his overhead, (2) reduce the risk to his partner of another unintended pregnancy, (3) more successfully nurture fewer children, and (4) reduce overcrowding in a small country whose environment has already been stripped of many resources by a population of over 10,000,000.

World Vasectomy Animation

Posted on September 29, 2015

Video World Vasectomy Animation

We all have occasions we celebrate each year. For us, that date is World Vasectomy Day!

But what is World Vasectomy Day? Let’s take it one step at a time.

A vasectomy is a permanent form of birth control for men where the doctor first separates the vas deferens and then seals up each end. This prevents sperm from entering into the seminal stream and fertilizing a woman’s egg. After it’s done you’ll still produce the same amount of semen, but no sperm, or like some say, ‘all juice no seeds’.

Can you just use a condom? For sure, but it turns out 18 out of every 100 men who use a condom as their primary form of birth control get a woman pregnant within a year.

With a vasectomy, failure is less than 1%. You do the math. And what do you call a man who uses withdrawal? Daddy.

And while no guy likes a doctor poking around in our private parts, for almost 99% of men there’s no lasting pain, the whole thing takes only 15 minutes and there’s no negative effect on our sex lives.

In fact, eliminating the fear of pregnancy can actually make it better.

You’d think every man, whose family is complete would get a vasectomy, but there are whole countries where less than 1% even choose the option.

So why are men so resistant?

Bad information and old habits lead to fears like my sex life will decrease” or “My testosterone will decline.

The Luo language of Kenya uses the same word for “vasectomy” and “castration’, but the common fear world over is that a vasectomy makes you less of a man.

Really?

Manhood is not determined by how many children you make, but how well you care for those you already have.
And some people don’t even want any kids and that’s their choice as well.

A courageous man doesn’t run from risk, he shares responsibility with his partner. He doesn’t give in to fear. He gets a vasectomy out of love.

And if that love includes concern for the planet our children will inherit, you should know that a vasectomy lowers carbon footprint 28 times more than a lifetime of reducing, reusing and recycling.

So on World Vasectomy Day we celebrate the men and women who rise as one to take responsibility for our children, our families and our future. For some this means choosing to get a vasectomy, for the doctors and providers it means doing them.

For all of us how we create new life is certainly the most important conversation of our lives. So join us this year on November 13, as we make history and create a better future.

World Vasectomy Day, November 13, 2015 | Minnesota

Posted on August 9, 2015

On November 13, 2015 World Vasectomy Day will be headquartered in Bali with free vasectomies offered by the local providers in Bali and international trainers. They will be joined by over 500 vasectomists worldwide. The event will be live-streamed including interviews with family planning experts, patients and their family members.

For the third year in a row, Dr.Shu will be participating in World Vasectomy Day, an event that brings focus to the role men can take in family planning as responsible citizens of our planet. The vasectomies we are offering on World Vasectomy Day are part of a global effort.

Doctors in health clinics and medical offices around the globe will perform as many vasectomies as possible in one 24-hour period for World Vasectomy Day, Nov. 13, 2015. The third annual event is designed to heighten awareness of and dispel myths about vasectomy, increase access to the procedure, and to inspire more men to become engaged in the global family planning conversation.

More information about World Vasectomy Day can be found at http://worldvasectomyday.org.

A Different Experience in Haiti Vasectomy Mission comparing to the Philippine Mission | Minneapolis & St Paul

Posted on August 5, 2015

Dr. Shu of One Stop Medical Center in Minneapolis participated in the vasectomy mission in Haiti in mid of July 2015. This is the second time this year that he has been part of an international vasectomy mission sponsored by the nonprofit organization, No Scalpel Vasectomy International Inc (NSVI).

Dr. Shu shares a passion with the vasectomy guru Dr. Doug Stein in Tampa, FL, promoting and providing no scalpel vasectomy (NSV) services worldwide. He joined the international team in the Philippine mission in February 2015.

Thanks to the opening of the expanded runway at Cap Haitien Airport, there is now jet service to Northern Haiti from Miami. We served three locations: the Uls Sante Clinic in Ft. Bourgeois, the town of Plaisance, and the Ft. St. Michel Health Center in Cap Haitien, and three physicians performed about 90 vasectomies in three days.

The Haiti mission is much more challenging than the Philippine mission because of the poor economy with a high unemployment rate, poor public infrastructure, and an under-developed health care system. NSVI has established a Domestic Program in Northern Haiti as it has done in the Philippines. The Haitian government has made family planning a national priority, and should be very receptive to the help offered by NSVI.

Dr. Shu Announced to Participate in Vasectomy Mission in Haiti in July 2015 | Minnesota

Posted on March 7, 2015

Dr. Shu of One Stop Medical Center has announced that he will participate in the vasectomy mission in Haiti in late July 2015. This is the second time this year that he has been part of an international vasectomy mission sponsored by the nonprofit organization, No Scalpel Vasectomy International Inc (NSVI). A total of 365 vasectomies were performed by the international team in six days in the Philippines mission last month, and Dr.Shu did more than 50 vasectomies alone.

Dr. Shu shares the passion with the vasectomy guru Dr. Doug Stein in Tampa, FL, promoting and providing no scalpel vasectomy (NSV) services worldwide. He joined the international team in the Philippine mission last month, and the whole team performed 365 vasectomies in 6 days.

In the past 13 years, Dr. Shu has dedicated his time to community activism, including the founding of the Minnesota Chinese Physician Association (AMCP) and the free clinic Minnesota Chinese Health Center (MCHC), and publishing the Chinese newspaper Minnesota Times. From 2015 onward, he will focus more on his international volunteer work.

Minnesota Physician Dr. Shu to participate in Vasectomy Mission in the Philippines in Feb 2015

Posted on January 4, 2015

A group of doctors from the United States, Canada, Australia, Poland, and Ireland will be going to the Philippines from February 3nd to 10th to provide free vasectomies for local residents. Minnesota physician Dr. Steven Shu, medical director of One Stop Medical Center, is participating in this mission. It is expected that more than 500 no scalpel vasectomies (NSV) will be done in the 8-day trip.

As an expert in office procedures in Minnesota, Dr. Shu has been enjoying making my contributions to local communities over the past 13 years. From now on, he will focus more on his international volunteer work.

For more information, please read the news release “Minnesota Physician to Participate in Vasectomy Mission in the Philippines“.

Category Archives: population control