Most teenage boys make money the old-fashioned way. They mow lawns, wash cars or flip burgers.
But one 13-year-old in Portland is the envy of his friends for the way he makes his money. He gets $50 for donating his feces.
The boy (who, for
reasons that will soon become obvious, asked not to be named) is part of
a burgeoning business in fecal transplantation: a medical procedure in
which—and here’s where you might want to put down that doughnut—donors’
poo is injected into a patient’s body.
In Portland, fecal
microbial transplantation is being promoted by a naturopath for a wide
range of maladies. The treatment isn’t approved by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration.
But the
procedure—used in experiments since the 1950s—is getting approving
articles in medical journals and increased use in mainstream hospitals,
such as the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, as a procedure to treat a very
specific intestinal ailment.
Bacteria from another person’s feces are delivered into the patient’s digestive system—usually through an enema—to fight Clostridium difficile, nasty bacteria that can rage in the digestive system and cause severe diarrhea and other unpleasantness.
Natural defenses usually fight off C. diff,
which can get out of control if antibiotics inadvertently kill the
body’s good bacteria. A different, stronger antibiotic often works. If
that fails, some doctors are turning to fecal microbial transplants,
letting someone else’s good bacteria go in and kill the bad.
There are about 500,000 cases of C. diff
each year, and only a small number get the treatment. Anecdotal reports
in journals give fecal microbial transplantation a 90-percent success
rate in fighting it.
“I thought it was
icky at first,” says Dr. Christina M. Surawicz of the University of
Washington School of Medicine, who first did the procedure in 2006. “But
the results were dramatic.”
Doctors and naturopaths can use the procedure without FDA approval (it doesn’t involve drugs or tissue).
“Certainly, this
treatment isn’t ready for prime time,” Dr. Colleen Kelly of the Alpert
Medical School at Brown University tells WW in an email, “but there are a number of doctors who are interested in studying this further.”
Portland naturopath
Mark G. Davis, who opened the Bright Medicine Clinic four months ago, is
using fecal microbial transplantation for other health problems,
including autoimmune disease, eczema, asthma, multiple sclerosis and
depression.
“What makes me unique,” Davis says, “is that I’m doing it for other ailments.”
Retreats at his North Portland clinic range from one to 10 days. The five-day “colon health retreat” runs $4,000.
Davis needs “clean”
excrement from a donor who hasn’t taken antibiotics or been sick
recently. He dilutes the sample in saline, filters the slurry and
injects the liquid into the patient via enema.
Davis says he was
“self-taught” after watching the procedure as a student at Portland’s
National College of Natural Medicine. (Davis graduated in 2011 and got
his state naturopathy license fast fall.)
Surawicz and other
physicians warn about the risks of fecal microbial transplantation
(infection, for one) to treat other ailments when there is no meaningful
evidence it works.
Davis disagrees, saying the procedure—like colonics or gluten-free diets—detoxifies the body and improves mood.
As for performing an unregulated procedure as unproven therapy, Davis says, “The FDA hasn’t said not to.”
The 13-year-old, who
donates to Davis’ clinic, says he was selected because of his good diet,
and because his parents never allowed him to take antibiotics.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” he says. “But it’s a really, really easy job.”
(His parents confirmed for WW that they approve of his $50-a-pop job as a feces donor, now in his third week.)
He excretes his
specimen into a plastic receptacle, and then must scrape out the sample
(“it needs to be a medium-sized poo”) before transferring the stool into
a Tupperware container. He adds a cup of water and seals it for the
clinic to pick up.
“I was sort of surprised you have to scoop out the poo and wash the container,” he says. “That’s the downside of the job.”
Nor did he expect that, when the clinic calls, he would have to donate on demand.
“I feel a little pressure,” he says. “One time when I couldn’t go, the doctor had to find another donor.”
When he’s not working, the 13-year-old, who lives in Irvington, plays basketball and tennis.
He estimates he has made $500 so far with his donations, but isn’t sure how much longer he wants to continue the work.
“I raked leaves and
baby-sat before. This is a lot easier,” he says. “I would probably like
it to go on for a couple of more years—but I’d like to have a break
every now and then.”
Seriously?? I read this and am thinking there HAS to be a better way to enhance someone's intestinal flora and thereby their health and wellness. I've heard of other treatments using urine too but this is (in addition to the urine treatments -which I think was for some cosmetic thing), in my book, simply wrong. It's adding toxins to a known weakened environment hoping for a good outcome... kinda like chemo for cancer. You can't heal with toxins. Especially introducing someone else's waste and bacterium that perhaps couldn't invade THEIR immune system but CAN invade a compromised system or even just one without the same defenses (IE a different person).
Consider that the two main issues with diseases (of just about ANY kind) is toxicity and nutritional deficiency. So the best way I can think to cure or rectify any situation is by adding better and more nutrition while removing toxins... not adding someone else's waste to your system. It just seems unreasonable to go there, especially in this manner. If you think about it, the recipient's immune system will automatically detect the invasion of this other poo and respond to it as an invader, as it should. So the treatment is thereby TAXING the immune system and causing it to have to work harder at something it shouldn't have had to in the first place!
There was no mention in the article about changing the patients diet. We really are what we eat and if we continue to eat the same things but add someone else's poo to our poop-shoot, if there are any benefits, they won't be lasting effects. One MUST change their diet to eliminate the toxins going IN to change what's happening on the way out.
I've heard GREAT results can come from changing ones diet to organic vegan and omitting all meats, dairy, processed foods, sugars and alcohol. Following THIS type of diet can and does cure and reverse all kinds of illnesses including cancer, the ones listed above plus many others.
See http://www.gerson.org/ for some amazing information!
Margie, the last thing the internet needs is more people offering uninformed emotional opinions such as yours. Do a little research before sharing. Try googling "fecal transplant". Also look into "probiotics" and "intestinal flora". Nutrition is absolutely important, but the best diet in the world will do you no good if you cannot absorb the nutrients because you intestinal ecosystem has been disrupted by antibiotics.
Extra4te,
It may be true that I don't know much about this "Fecal Transplantation" but that doesn't mean I'm uninformed.
I agree with you on the absorption of nutrients and that antibiotics drastically disrupt the intestinal flora. You'll notice, that aside from improving and changing one's diet, I mentioned that one must cleanse the body of toxins. This will allow the body to better process and assimilate the improved diet. If we continue to do the same (re: diet), we will continue to reap the same results (junk in = junk and problems, no matter how much "crap" we throw at it).
I didn't want to get into a debate with anyone about this but I suppose I must point out that I am entitled (by LAW) to Freedom of Speech to voice my opinion. And, yes... my opinion is passionate (or emotional, as you put it), but will you notice the emotion in your comments? At least I didn't try to degrade anyone for having an opinion, or attempt to hurt anyone's feelings with negative comments aimed at their level of intelligence.
All this time I've been flushing $50 down the toilet. I could have made millions. Bummer.
Margie,
It is apparent you have not met anyone who has C. Diff; nor done any research on the bacteria. You don't contract it by consuming an insufficient diet. I took prescribed antibiotics for an infection over a year ago and developed C. Diff as a result. The treatment is incredibly strong, outrageously expensive antibiotics ($4,700. for two weeks worth). Some are lucky and the treatment works; others are not so fortunate. I am one of those and I understand the numbers are growing as the bacteria becomes increasingly resistant.
I looked at the link you provided. I certainly agree that diet is crucial to good health. I have always been active and have healthy eating habits. "There was no mention in the article about changing the patients diet"...I am here to tell you, when you have C. Diff, your diet changes dramatically. Your body cannot abrsorb nutrients because of this monstrous bacteria.
I would be more than happy to cleanse my body of this toxin; however, the way this bacteria functions is quite insidious. There are many areas on the internet where you can find information on how C. Diff establishes and recurs. Having relapsed, yet again, I am currently trying to find a physician who will assist me with FMT.
Margie: Your assertions are ridiculous. I'm a registered nurse and fecal transplantation is curing people battling chronic clostridium difficile. Not knowing anything about the other reasons it's being used, such as for autoimmune disease, asthma, eczema, etc., I probably wouldn't advocate it. But in the instance of c. diff and ulcerative colitis, I do. You should do a little research before posting and until you've had c. diff (a superbug) then you should probably refrain from silly posts like this one.
Davis disagrees, saying the procedure—like colonics or gluten-free diets—detoxifies the body and improves mood.
...and my insurance covers this shit. Pun intended.
I interviewed the 13-year-old quoted in the story and should have included the information that his blood and stool were tested at a local hospital prior to his being approved as a donor.
My husband, which is only 35 yrs old has recently had c-diff for over 6 months. He also has stage 4 oral cancer as a non smoker/drinker. We were unable to get rid of his c-diff with med, hospital stays & other misc. We recently did the fecal transplant and t worked right away. NOTHING else worked.
GM, are you serious about insurance covering this? Wow, as a CFIDS person with IBD (largely caused by mercury poisoning and antibiotic use), I've been talking to Mark Davis about FMT. It would be awesome (!!) if my insurance covered the procedure. Thanks for the heads up, even if you were being sarcastic, because I'm going to push for it!!
Margie, I was a very health conscious vegetarian for 25 years, distance runner, living in the mountains, and I got sick from my dental amalgams. One of the treatments that has been hugely beneficial for me has been the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, which usually involves lots of grass-fed, organic meats and bone broths. I gladly went back to meat and received huge health gains from the diet.
While Max Gerson had some good ideas, there are many other dietary options out there, and a low polysaccharide diet is beneficial for people with bacterial overgrowth and imbalances in their guts, including IBD sufferers, autistic kids, and, I believe, those with the many chronic, degenerative diseases that seem to be cropping up everywhere. I've had one world-famous chronic fatigue doctor say that he thought vegetarians were disproportinately represented amongst his clientele, and that they tended to be sicker. It's really counterproductive, if you haven't been sick or had a sick kid, to espouse that something like juicing is going to cure me. And I've tried coffee enemas, and once again, a therapy that might work for someone in moderate health does not for the truly sick. Trust me, I've tried everything and spent a fortune doing so. In the end, it will be SCD, Andy Cutlers low dose chelation protocol and HPI (or FMT, as Dr. Davis calls it) that cures me. The reports on the procedures, from folks on the C Diff and IBD blogs and from reputable medical institutes, are astounding...HPI will be one of the standard treatments of the future, and I believe that Dr. Thomas Borody out of Australia, the physician that pioneered the procedure (in a sense, its actually been around for a while, and is commonly used in vetinary medicine) will win the Nobel Prize for medicine one day.