Inventor Marc Koska’s one-use syringe is endorsed by WHO

LifeSaver Syringe immediately breaks if the user tries to pull back the plunger for a second use

The LifeSaver Syringe is already being used in dozens of developing countries and has saved countless lives (PA)

A British painter and decorator who turned inventor has spoken of his pride as his one-use syringe, which has been 30 years in the making, has been endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Marc Koska, 53, from Danehill in East Sussex, said he had the idea to create an auto-disable syringe after reading a newspaper article about the spread of HIV through shared needles.

The design that he eventually came up with – the LifeSaver Syringe, which immediately breaks if the user tries to pull back the plunger for a second use – is already being used in dozens of developing countries, where it has saved countless lives.

The new WHO policy will mean that all countries will have to use so-called “smart” syringes by 2020, and it is encouraging manufacturers to start making them as soon as possible.

A recent WHO-sponsored study estimated that in 2010 up to 1.7 million people were infected with hepatitis B, up to 315,000 with hepatitis C, and as many as 33,800 had HIV transmitted, through unsafe injections.

Mr Koska, who also formed the SafePoint charity in 2006 to spread the message of the dangers of reusing needles, said he has been to 64 developing countries in the past 10 years where he has seen his invention used.

He described the WHO endorsement of his syringe as a “watershed moment”.