Yeah. Like sperm banks or the banks you put money in. There are now also banks...for poo.
'About bloody time!' We hear you cry. 'How can I get involved?' Easy tiger. These banks are medical safeguards, not to be used as the butt (hehe) of your jokes.
The initiative belongs to the Netherlands and was started to combat the rise of C. difficile, a painful and dangerous condition that causes stomach pain, fever and diarrhea. It's normally difficult to treat because it's very good at resisting antibiotics.
The government stepped up by establishing the Dutch Donor Faeces Bank, based on the simple science of redistribution. Poo from the well is transferred from poo to the sick, kind of like a blood transfusion…but with poo.
By being inserted into the patient’s gastrointestinal tract, the new poo (hehe) brings good bacteria and helps fight the infection. While the Netherlands have supported the practice by founding a bank, it's not the only place where poo transplants are being carried out. They've taken place in the US before, and it looks like they may eventually make their way over to the UK, if we have need of them.
Professor of Microbiology at Leiden University, Ed Kuijper, suggests their ascent into mainstream medicine: 'Stool donations are not as accepted yet as blood donations,' he explains. 'But I think it’s a question of what people are used to, and donors are offering the possibility of a safe treatment to patients suffering from what is a difficult illness.'
I, for one, will be sitting tight until then. But only until then.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.