You can’t flush your shit down the drain quickly enough. But for other people, your poop could actually be a lifesaving medical treatment — which is why a nonprofit organization is willng to pay $40 a pop (or poop) for your waste.
OpenBiome‘s founders opened the first national poop bank in 2013 to help people sick with the bacteria Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), the Washington Post reported. The bacteria causes colitis, which is inflammation of the colon, leading to severe digestive problems. Antibiotics can help some patients, but in about 20%, the infection returns, according to the CDC. It’s transferred through contaminated feces; on the other hand, healthy feces can cure it.
After collection, samples are frozen and stored at clinics, cutting out time searching for a matching donor. Doctors can insert this healthy poop (via edoscopy, nasal tubes or fecal pills) into the gut of an infected person, and actually cure patients of the condition.
But even if you consider yourself healthy, it doesn’t mean your poop is up to standards — apparently only 4% of people who apply online pass the strict screening, the founders told the Post. OpenBiome’s website lists the most common exclusion criteria, and they also state that you must pass 17 medical screenings before being approved.
If you donate your dung, you’ll get $40 per sample, and a $50 bonus if you donate five days per week. That’s $250 per week! And $13,000 per year! But not only will you get a nice chunk of change, you’ll be giving someone a new life. So you can walk away with a fat wallet, full heart, and bloat-free stomach.
