Stool donor recruitment – A one-year experience

Abstract

Stool donors for fecal microbiota transference (FMT) should be rigorously screened to identify any disorder in health status. The success of our screening protocol to identify eligible donors in the last year and a half was evaluated and compared with the published literature.The target population was medical students who responded to 3 public calls to donate stools. Qualified donors brought stool samples to our lab.Out of the 110 students who responded to the call, 26 were enrolled as study donors and delivered at least one stool sample. The main reason for volunteer exclusion was body mass index (BMI) <18.5kg/m2 or >25kg/m2 (n=11) and for the identification of ESBL Escherichia coli in feces (n=3).Our success rate after the screening protocol was considered high. Understanding the incentives to participate is critical to the success of recruitment strategies as FMT is still a little-known practice for general population.