Learn about Fecal Microbiota Transplantation

What is Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT)?

The purpose of this research study is to determine the effect of fecal microbiota transplantation as treatment of recurrent C. difficile infection (CDI) in organ transplant recipients. Fecal microbiota transplantation has been found to reduce C. diff infection recurrence dramatically in non-transplant patients but has not been studied in organ transplant recipients. The results of this study will also advance our knowledge of the role of fecal microbiota transplantation in organ transplant recipients for other multidrug-resistant organisms.

A fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is a procedure in which fecal matter, or stool, is collected from a healthy donor, filtered and frozen with a preservative or another solution, freeze-fried and placed into a capsule to be given to another person.

The goal of fecal transplant is to replace good bacteria into the colon that has been killed or suppressed, causing bad bacteria, specifically C. difficile.

The use of FMT is investigational, which means the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have not yet approved it for use in the United States. Therefore, right now it is only available to subjects taking part in a research study, and for patients who have not responded to standard treatment.