“Think of us as a blood bank, but for poop,” Mark Smith grinned as he said.
Smith is the #1 man at OpenBiome, where #2 counts the most.
If you’re under 50 years old and live close to Medford, Massachusetts this can be your gold mine too.
OpenBiome collects and tests fecal samples as well as providing them to over 100 US hospitals in more than 30 states, all for something called fecal microbiota transplantation.
The treatment helps corral C. difficile infection. That happens when both good and bacteria in the stomach are killed by antibiotics.
The infection hits more than a half-million Americans every year and kills over 14,000,
But good old poop has a lot of the good bacteria and once transplanted, can correct the situation.
There aren't many facilities providing the material and Smith told Boston.com, "you shouldn't have to fly across the country to get poop."
Their website says the company was started "after watching a friend and family member suffer through 18 months of C. difficile and 7 rounds of vancomycin before finally receiving a successful, life-changing Fecal Microbiota Transplantation."
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