At 'Rogue' Clinic, Requests for Poop Milkshakes Are Normal

By Arden Dier

June 29, 2017

Preparing the sample takes about 45 minutes. A little water is added to the frozen brown mass and blended with a hand mixer until the substance is just thicker than a milkshake.

The next part takes less than five minutes: A syringe collects the slurry, then puts it into a plastic catheter pushed a few inches into the rectum—and presto, a fecal transplant is complete.

Officially known as "fecal microbiota transplantation," the procedure can legally be performed by doctors in the US only on patients with recurrent Clostridium difficilebacteria, given research that shows it to be an effective treatment, reports BuzzFeed in a feature. But one "rogue clinic" in Tampa, Fla., skirts the law by offering self-administering tutorials to those who believe good bacteria in a donor's poop will cure their Crohn's disease, obesity, or autism, among other conditions.

Read the full story on Newser.com