# Fecal transplantation: Is it for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 10, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158 "2011-01-10T23:35:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/1 "2011-01-10T23:35:40Z")
Poll coming… [Fecal transplantation](http://www.internalmedicinenews.com/news/gastroenterology/single-article/fecal-transplantation-works-for-recurrent-c-difficile-infections-when-antibiotics-fail/ab8be6bcd7.html) > [@](#): > > In fecal transplantation, donor stool is delivered from below through a colonoscope or retention enema, or from above through a nasogastric or nasoduodenal tube, to replace colonic flora wiped out by antibiotics, reestablishing the patient’s resistance to colonization by C. difficile. I first heard about this procedure back in med school, in the very early 80’s. Unfortunately it seemed to fall out of favor in Western medicine. Too bad, it seems quite effective against relapsing C. difficile, an infection that costs a fair number of lives each year. Mortality due to C. difficile has has quadrupled in the last 15 years. So, would you undergo this procedure? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/2 "2011-01-10T23:40:30Z")
It seems a bit olde-style to use actual feces for it,Why can’t you grow a nice community in agar and pump it up there? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/3 "2011-01-10T23:42:08Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > It seems a bit olde-style to use actual feces for it,Why can’t you grow a nice community in agar and pump it up there? Actually, they do process it, removing the undigested food. But it contains such a wide number of different species of bacteria, and subspecies to boot, that trying to grow them all in the correct ratios in a petri dish would be rather difficult. A strain or three that turn out to be vital for positive effects might not thrive there, and then be absent from the transplanted material. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/4 "2011-01-10T23:43:32Z")
Can I be a donor? That is, if I give a shit. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/5 "2011-01-10T23:44:00Z")
Absolutely. I read something the other day that C. diff has now outpaced MRSA as the nosocomial infection agent of choice in some hospitals. That’s kinda scary. But really, I’d do it for lesser reasons. I just don’t have a huge ick factor for feces. (Now, if your treatment remedy involved me fondling people’s eyeballs, I’d have issues.) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/6 "2011-01-11T01:09:12Z")
[Mod mod]Changed "transplanation’ to “transplantation” in title.[/Mod mod] ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/7 "2011-01-11T01:09:34Z")
Bah, eyeballs aren’t that bad. 😃 (OK, people who work in ophthalmology/optometry think that; nearly everyone else gets the heebie-jeebies.) If I had to have it… I’d really prefer the from-below method, thanks. Just in case there’s a leak in the pipe. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/8 "2011-01-11T01:11:55Z")
Are you awake when it’s happening? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/9 "2011-01-11T01:32:47Z")
I just told my wife why I need to update my donor card and Living Will. She looked at me funny. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/10 "2011-01-11T01:33:24Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Are you awake when it’s happening? Why would they sedate you for an enema? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/11 "2011-01-11T01:33:54Z")
I heard that the infants of some animal species, such as koalas, consume their mother’s feces in order to build up a colony of digestive bacteria. I’d undergo the procedure (not orally natch, but by transplantation, just to clarify things.) if my life depended on it. I assume all sterile precautions would be undertaken to prevent infection by undesirable illnesses as a result of the operation. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/12 "2011-01-11T01:36:41Z")
I give people shit every single day. What can I say, I have a generous ass. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/13 "2011-01-11T01:39:12Z")
1. Sure I’d do it if it would benefit my health–I just really don’t see a problem with it at all. If a doctor says do X, I do X. 2. For the umpteenth time in my life, I’m so glad that my desire to be a doctor as a kid lessened as I got older (that frog in 8th grade biology was the first blow). I mean, I just don’t really wanna sit around and think about the possible benefits of sticking one person’s poop up another person’s ass (anymore than I’ve done so already by reading this thread). ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/14 "2011-01-11T02:09:02Z")
There was a [NY Times article](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/science/13micro.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&ref=science&adxnnlx=1294711233-iDa6+cGWrDIwFCQcWdJAog) about this over the summer. I’d do it, no problem. From your link: \* “The cost of goods is low, unlikely to be in short supply, and unlikely to be addictive. It is obvious that feces have the right stuff,” Dr. Gerding said. \* Also, _“You need to dedicate a blender” for the procedure, Dr. Bakken noted._ And, _“Severe [C. difficile infection] represents the single situation when you should be willing to take crap from your spouse,” Dr. Bakken joked._ I guess these guys have had a lot of time while blending turd slurries to come up with some good jokes. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/15 "2011-01-11T02:13:54Z")
If your shit’s all retarded I’d rather not take the chance personally… ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/16 "2011-01-11T02:28:56Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Why would they sedate you for an enema? The OP said it could be done through a nasogastric or nasoduodenal tube. ---
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/17 "2011-01-11T02:47:08Z")
It sounds less awful then many medical procedures. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/18 "2011-01-11T02:55:38Z")
Sure I would, but through the NOSE? Ew. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/19 "2011-01-11T03:22:19Z")
If it works, it works. Sign me up if I’m ever wasting away from a C. diff infection. To be honest, I’d rather start with that before resorting to the vancomycin attack. It cures me _and_ it doesn’t contribute to the antibiotic resistance problem? Then by all means, sign me up for that shit. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158/20 "2011-01-11T03:26:44Z")
Can I freeze my own sample in case I ever need it? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-transplantation-is-it-for-you/567158.md?page=2)