Why a US-based non-profit wants to help regenerate 'foreskins' for men

A US and Italy-based non-profit called Fo​regen, which has been founded by an Italian national Vincenzo Aiello is hoping to help develop a technology that could help regenerate male foreskin, says a report on Motherboard.   In many countries and cultures, infant boys undergo circumcision which involves removing foreskin at the tip of the penis.

So why the need to concentrate on foreskins? According to the company’s website,  “The demand for a cure for circumcision is overwhelming. The body part that is in highest demand for regenerative purposes in the US is the kidney. About 100,000 people are on the waiting list for one. There are approximately 1,000 times as many men (100 million) who are in need of an intact penis in the US alone!”

Foregen also add on their website that they understand that foreskin regeneration is something that will grab public attention and are confident that “regenerative medicine will be brought into the public eye because of the tangible and intimate effects our therapy will provide for millions of people.”

So how does Foregen hope to regenerate foreskins? According to the Motherboard report, the company “plans to have a procedure patented and cleared for clinical trials within five years”. They however wouldn’t reveal details of the procedure as they have to still get the patent.

However the report mentions that the company plans to use “regenerative medicine to regrow their foreskins—much like a salamander can regrow a severed appendage” and that they will use technology similar to what is already used to “graft entire limbs to amputees.”

Currently Foregen “has raised about $100,000 to date” although the report says it will need much more.

Aiello also told the website that many of the researchers who are working for the organisation have requested complete anonymity considering the cultural implications that come with circumcision. In religions such as Islam, Judaism the circumcision of male infants is considered a tradition, and a potential regenerative technique is likely to be seen as a threat to religious customs.

Aiello told Motherboard, “I think they (the researchers) are a little bit scared for many reasons. They don’t want to be remembered in history for regenerating the foreskin. It’s basically a taboo.”

The report also points out that in America the number of male circumcisions is particularly high (much higher than Europe). Where contextual history is concerned, circumcision was “medically touted as a method of reducing a boy’s urge to masturbate,” in the early 17th century.

In more recent times, circumcision has been argued as protecting men against diseases like UTI, HIV, reducing risk of STDs, HIV, etc. It should be noted however, that there is considerable debate on whether that circumcision even offers any such protections in the first place. For instance, according to the Motherboard report, European scientists found that circumcision can result in reduced UTIs, but only by about 1 percent.

Also both the US CDC and American Academy of Paediatrics have in the past said that circumcision’s benefits outweighed the negative affects. However as the Motherboard report states, both statements were severely criticised by the international medical community.

Previously an Associated Press report had noted the American Academy of Paediatrics as saying, “The benefits of newborn male circumcision justify access to this procedure for those families who choose it.“In contrast,  in 2013 a regional court in Germany ruled said that circumcision amounts to bodily harm and banned the practice for newborn infants in areas under its jurisdiction.

While the debate over circumcision is likely to continue, given the cultural and religious implications of the practice, Foregen’s task of regenerating foreskins won’t be such an easy one.