DeepSummary
The episode discusses a company called Human Microbes that facilitates an online black market for fecal transplants, where people can purchase strangers' stool samples to treat various ailments by ingesting or administering them. A 66-year-old woman named Alexandra suffered from gastrointestinal issues and resorted to ordering strangers' stool online after feeling dismissed by conventional medicine.
The founder of Human Microbes, Michael Harrop, runs a platform where prospective fecal donors fill out questionnaires and have their stool samples listed on a Google spreadsheet for buyers to choose from, often based on perceived healthiness or attributes of the donor. Despite the potential risks and lack of medical oversight, some people believe fecal transplants could treat conditions beyond gut problems, like autism or obesity.
While fecal transplants are an approved treatment for C. diff infections in clinical settings, the DIY approach raises safety concerns among doctors due to the lack of screening and regulation. However, some remain hopeful that as research progresses, fecal transplants could become a more widely accepted treatment for various conditions, though likely not through unregulated online marketplaces.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- An online black market exists for purchasing strangers' stool samples to self-administer fecal transplants.
- While fecal transplants are an approved treatment for C. diff infections, some believe they could treat other conditions like autism or obesity.
- The DIY fecal transplant practice raises safety concerns due to lack of screening, regulation, and medical oversight.
- Proponents view fecal transplants as a natural, experimental approach to restoring gut health, though research is still limited.
- Doctors strongly caution against the unregulated use of fecal transplants obtained through online marketplaces.
- The founder of Human Microbes, which facilitates the online stool market, acknowledges the experimental and uncertain nature of the practice.
- Some individuals have reported positive outcomes from DIY fecal transplants, but the process lacks guidance or follow-up.
- As research progresses, fecal transplants could potentially become a more widely accepted treatment, but likely not through unregulated online sources.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “If you go to certain subreddits or certain Facebook groups, you'll see people you know doing this completely independently, all by themselves.“ by Luke Winkie
- “Michael Harrop has even told me that he, someone who suffers from a variety of ailments similar to Alexandra, has not found an FMT donor for him, that has allowed him to feel better, that he still suffers from all these problems, that he has not found the correct fecal makeup to assist with all his.“ by Luke Winkie
- “One of the doctor I spoke to who works at the Mayo Clinic, I believe his quote was, horrible idea. Terrible, terrible idea.“ by Luke Winkie
- “Michael Harrop likes to reinforce that this is all very untested science, that we are in a black box here, that this is all very experimental.“ by Luke Winkie
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Episode Information
What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future
Slate Podcasts
6/2/24
“Fecal microbial transplants” treat someone’s unhealthy gut with poop from someone else’s healthy gut, and proponents of FMT claim it can help treat everything from IBS to autism. But if your doctor isn’t ready to fill you up with someone else’s poop, the internet will happily oblige.
Guest:
Luke Winkie, Slate staff writer who published “The Poop Broker.”
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