Fecal Transplant: Principle, Procedure, Uses

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) also known as fecal bacteriotherapy or intestinal microbiota transplantation (IMT),  is a novel approach used to treat Clostridioides difficileinfections (CDI). It involves infusing intestinal flora via stool of a healthy donor into the intestine of a sick patient to restore the microbiota.

According to OPENBIOME FMT has shown >90% effectiveness for treating C.difficile infection in patients who had previously failed to recover with antibiotic therapy. It is considered a low-cost, low-risk, and highly effective therapy for C. difficile infection.

How fecal transplantation is done?

Fecal preparation from a carefully screened, healthy stool donor is transplanted into the colon of a sick patient through colonoscopy, naso-enteric tube or capsules (pills).

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How Fecal Transplant works?

When a person is suffering from C.difficile infection; his intestinal microbiome is outnumbered by C. difficile. Fecal transplant works by repopulating the patient’s microbiome with diverse intestinal flora. With an increase in the population of helpful (commensal) bacteria, the population of C. difficile is checked and the patient health is restored.

Are there any associated risks of Fecal Transplant?

Though the donors are carefully screened for any infectious agent; the screening procedure might fail to detect a pathogen. There are also procedural risks associated with receiving an FMT by colonoscopy or other methods of administration.

Systematic review of Intestinal Microbiota Transplantation (IMT)reported that adverse events and death were uncommon but the procedure was highly effective to treat CDI.

You can get more information about fecal transplants by visiting The Fecal Transplant Foundation.