Residents of Massachusetts, US, now have another avenue of income, even though a strange one. An independent non-profit stool bank called OpenBiome is willing to pay volunteers $40 per deposit of their poo.

According to boston.com, the stool samples will be used for fecal transplants, to fight the deadly superbug C.difficile, which affects more than 500,000 and kills 14,000 Americans per year.

Stool transplants are being praised by many doctors as a miracle cure for C.difficile, a bacterial infection that most commonly affects hospital patients. It causes fever, painful cramps, severe diarrhoea, and in some cases, life-threatening complications such as severe swelling of the bowel. Patients with recurring episodes are ill for several months, and only have a 75 per cent chance of survival.

However, stool transplants from healthy donors have worked wonders – especially when all other treatments, even antibiotics, have failed. It helps restore the balance of good bacteria in the gut, which are highly effective in fighting infections. If the treatment is successful, the patient starts to feel better almost immediately.

In order to be a donor, you need to be between 18 and 50 years of age, have regular bowel movements and be willing to make 30-minute trips every day to the OpenBiome laboratory in Medford, Massachusetts. At least four donations a week are mandatory, if you choose to register as a donor. If you come in five days a week, you could receive an extra $50.

Prospective donors also receive $40 for getting tested – these tests include filling out a detailed medical questionnaire, having your stool tested for infections, and your blood tested for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Once you are chosen as a donor, there are several other incentives to look forward to – including clever nicknames like ‘super pooper’, ‘Vladimir Pootin’, or ‘Winnie the Poo’. OpenBiome also encourages its donors to stay healthy by eating plenty of fibre.


http://www.punchng.com/feature/weird-planet/stool-bank-offers-40-a-day-for-peoples-poo/

Madness