John Tang Ing Ching, Malaysian gynaecologist and founder of Wondaleaf, has created the world’s first unisex condom. It’s a stick-on condom that can be worn by females and males, and is made from medical grade polyurethane.
Its inventor is from Sarawak and hopes the Wondaleaf Unisex Condom will empower people of all genders to take better control of their sexual health.
How does it work?
Basically, it’s a condom with an adhesive coating on one side. It becomes a male condom when the adhesive is on the outside, and it turns into a female condom when flipped inside out. There is also a flap that covers the adjacent areas to decrease skin contact and risk of contact STIs. The adhesive is probably the biggest selling point, making it very difficult for the condom to slip off during intercourse, providing a safer experience. Wondaleaf also created animated instructional videos for using it as both a male or female condom.
The package comes with water-based lubricant sachets as well as retention gauze that is inserted into the condom, helping with absorption.
Regarding the material, polyurathane is normally used for transparent wound dressings because it is flexible, strong, and waterproof. The Wondaleaf Unisex Condom is 0.03mm thin, which is the width of three red blood cells. According to a recent study they conducted, two-thirds of women (69.8%), and over a half of men (58.4%) stated a preference for Wondaleaf over a competing female condom.
“Based on the number of clinical trials we have conducted, I am quite optimistic that given time it will be a meaningful addition to the many contraceptive methods used in the prevention of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases,” Tang said.
Since Wondaleaf has gone through multiple clinical trials, they are planning to make the product commercially available this December through their website.
One box of Wondaleaf Unisex Condoms contains two condoms, two lubricant sachets, and 2 retention gauze, and will cost RM14.99, which is RM7.50 per unit. Compared to regular condoms, it’s about three times more expensive, with the average price of a dozen condoms in Malaysia being RM30, which is RM2.50 each.
It’s always great to have more contraceptive options, especially if they’re safer. We will just have to wait and see how much safer this condom is and if it’s worth the price tag.
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