by Emily Eakin in the December 1, 2014 New Yorker.
This article is available free full text at The New Yorker.
Ms. Eakin’s has a podcast about her article.
People are increasingly aware of fecal microbial translplants. This New Yorker article is a great introduction. The following is a brief definition of FMT from the Fecal Transplant Foundaion.
Fecal Microbial Transplant is a procedure in which fecal matter, or stool, is collected from a tested donor, mixed with a saline or other solution, strained, and placed in a patient, by colonoscopy, endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, or enema. Presently, capsules of dried stool are being experimented on as well.
The purpose of fecal transplant is to replace good bacteria that has been killed or suppressed, usually by the use of antibiotics, causing bad bacteria, specifically Clostridium difficile, or C. diff., to over-populate the colon. This infection causes a condition called C. diff. colitis, resulting in often debilitating, sometimes fatal diarrhea.
FMTs are being used for other conditions such as Crohn’s Disease. This is a rapidly emerging field.
Read The Excrement Cure. If you read the article, you may want more information about OpenBiome, a non-profit organization which provides FMTs to hospitals and physicians at a reasonable cost.