Your digestive tract is home to a complex ecosystem of microorganisms, mostly bacteria, that we are only beginning to understand its large role in our immune system and inflammation. A healthy gut contains a balanced mixture of many organisms. When this ecosystem becomes unbalanced, some bacteria can grow out of control and make you sick.
Fecal transplantation (bacteriotherapy) is a treatment that involves putting another person’s healthy stool into your large intestine (colon). It’s also known as a stool transplant or fecal microbiota transplant (FMT). It’s most often used to treat recurrent Clostridium difficile (C. difficile or C. diff) infection, with a 90% or higher success rate. FMT restores healthy microbial communities in the colon that in turn fights off the C. difficile infection.
C. difficile infection means the environment in your intestine has become unhealthy and resistant to treatment. Fecal transplantation restores health to this environment by placing healthy donor stool in your intestine. Donors are carefully screened to make sure the stool you receive is healthy.