Donating feces earns 6600 yuan per month? A medical enterprise in Xi'an: with a qualification rate of only about 10%, the microbial community | feces | enterprise

"Donating feces, with a daily income of three digits and a monthly income of over 6000!" Recently, Xi'an Jueyou Medical Technology Development Co., Ltd., in collaboration with Xi'an Jiaotong University First Affiliated Hospital, launched a "fecal microbiota volunteer recruitment" notice, which has attracted social attention.

A Red Star News reporter learned from a staff member of Junyou Medical that donating feces can provide subsidies ranging from 100 to 300 yuan per donation, and there are no restrictions on the number of donations. A maximum of 22 donations can be made per month, which translates to a monthly subsidy of approximately 6600 yuan through fecal donation.

But the staff member also stated that recent tattoos, ear piercings, medical beauty treatments, taking antibiotics, and even mental illnesses often make it difficult to pass the screening. The staff member responded to Red Star News that there are currently a large number of inquiries and applications for fecal donation, but the actual approval rate is only about 10%.

Who can donate feces?

Healthy adults aged 18-30 who have recently had their ears pierced for medical beauty and other difficult tests

"There are quite a few people consulting and signing up for donations now, but there are not many donors who pass the physical examination screening." A staff member of Junyou Medical told Red Star News that since the announcement of fecal donation recruitment on September 7th, many young people in Xi'an have come to sign up for consultation. However, currently, the qualified rate of those who pass the physical examination and meet the donation requirements is only about 10%.

Red Star News reporters have noticed that recruitment announcements indicate that fecal donors must be healthy adults aged 18-30, with a BMI value of 18.5-23.9kg/m2. In addition, it is required to have no previous medical history, not stay up late, not smoke or drink alcohol, and to have exercise habits, regular meals, and normal bowel movements in daily life.

"We hope to be college students, but as long as we meet the age requirements, there is no educational limit." The interviewed staff explained that the recruitment of college students is mainly based on the consideration of high self-discipline and good physical condition of students, and educational level, gender, and other factors are not included in the assessment items.

According to the recruitment process outlined in the notice, in addition to passing a physical examination, volunteers are also required to undergo face-to-face interviews. The above-mentioned company employees stated that the main purpose of the interview is to understand their recent mental health status and inquire about their past medical history or family genetics. The staff explained that the reason for understanding the mental health situation is because the screened healthy fecal microbiota will serve the treatment of depression patients in the future, so special emphasis will be placed on this examination item.

Survey content on the health status of participants in the donor recruitment health evaluation scale

In addition, the reporter also learned that before registering for fecal donation, volunteers need to fill out a 12 page "Donor Recruitment Health Evaluation Scale". The scale will also ask the subjects if they have recently undergone medical beauty treatments, ear piercing, and tattoos. Why do these factors affect fecal donation? The above staff explained, "For example, if you have an ear hole or tattoo done within 3 months, there may be a risk of infection. Therefore, it is not recommended for this group of people to donate feces in the near future."

In fact, it is not uncommon to recruit fecal donors in the medical field, and in screening projects, Red Star News reporters have found that most of them have considered factors such as age, BMI, and past medical history. In the recruitment notice released by the Digestive Department of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University in April this year, the selection criteria also require an age range of 18-30 years old, a BMI value of 18.5-23.9kg/m2, psychological health, and regular bowel movements. The fecal recruitment requirements released by Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Shenzhen Branch in July this year indicate that the age should be 18-28 years old, with a BMI value of 18.5-24kg/㎡, no medical history, and no antibiotics taken within 3 months.

The above recruitment information shows that it is a long-term recruitment and indicates that donors will be given certain economic subsidies.

Screenshot of the fecal recruitment notice previously released by the Digestive Department of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University

Donating feces can earn daily bucket money?

The maximum subsidy for a single donation is 300 yuan, and up to 22 donations can be made per month at most

Red Star News reporters saw in the recruitment announcement released by Junyou Medical that for eligible fecal donors, the company can provide free physical examinations and year-round health guidance. If one becomes a qualified fecal donor, they will also receive nutritional and transportation subsidies for each donation. If you become the best fecal donor, there are additional rewards and a certificate of love.

The interviewed staff mentioned above stated that even if they ultimately fail the screening, they do not need to bear the medical examination fees themselves. If ultimately selected as a fecal donor, subsidies will be provided for each donation.

"After passing the screening, there is no limit to the number of times feces can be donated, and the more donations, the more subsidies will be given." A staff member from Junyou Medical told Red Star News that due to the scarcity of qualified fecal microbiota, volunteers can donate feces every working day as long as they are willing, and the subsequent subsidy price will be increased to a maximum of 300 yuan/time. "If it is a long-term donor, they need to undergo re examination and screening every approximately 3 months," said the staff member.

At the same time, this staff member also promised that the information of each donor will be strictly confidential, and no third party will know the identity of the donor, and even the name will appear in the form of a code.

Due to the high subsidy and unlimited frequency of fecal donation, the topic of "donating feces with a monthly income exceeding 10000 yuan" has previously attracted public attention. Previously, a pharmaceutical company in Shenzhen issued a recruitment notice for fecal donors, stating that qualified donors can receive a subsidy of 300 yuan per fecal donation, with a maximum of 22 donations per month, resulting in a maximum monthly income of 6600 yuan. The School of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong recruits regular fecal donors and provides them with a maximum monthly subsidy of HKD 7000.

What is the donated feces used for?

Used for fecal microbiota transplantation treatment

Has certain therapeutic effects on digestive system diseases

Why collect feces from healthy individuals? According to the explanation provided by the Department of Gastroenterology at Zhongshan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, recruiting feces is for fecal microbiota transplantation, which involves transplanting functional microbiota from healthy human feces into the patient's gastrointestinal tract, rebuilding a new gut microbiota, and achieving the treatment of diseases related to microbiota imbalance. However, previous studies at home and abroad have confirmed that fecal bacteria transplantation has a certain effect on digestive system diseases such as clostridium difficile infection, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and even in the treatment of obesity, diabetes, autism, cancer, depression and other fields.

According to the article on the official WeChat official account of Xi'an Junyou, the company held the establishment ceremony of the flora transplantation center in August this year, becoming the first precise flora transplantation center in northwest China. At the same time, the company has partnered with Xi'an Jiaotong University First Affiliated Hospital to establish the first GMP level intestinal microbiota preparation workshop, human microbiota, and strain treasure trove for transplantation in the northwest region.

"Fecal microbiota transplantation is a type of microbial therapy that can use healthy human feces to prepare drugs for patients' treatment, in order to help patients restore intestinal microbiota balance." A gastroenterologist from an unnamed tertiary hospital told Red Star News that currently, most medical institutions rely on "fecal banks" for fecal transplantation research and pharmaceuticals, and the gap in the high-quality fecal microbiota recruited by "fecal banks" to society is still quite obvious.

The doctor explained that institutions like Xi'an Junyou that collect health samples from donated feces are not uncommon in China. Red Star News reporters also found that there are more than ten domestic institutions that purchase feces, distributed in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and other places. The Zhonghua Fecal Microbial Bank is currently the largest microbial community transplantation platform in China.

According to previous reports from Phoenix Net, there are currently at least 70 hospitals and research institutions in China that are attempting to use fecal microbiota transplantation to treat various diseases. Over 20 clinical trials of fecal microbiota transplantation have been registered, with a total of about 10000 treated cases. Among them, Guangzhou included "fecal microbiota transplantation" in its medical fee program in 2019. Currently, many hospitals in Guangdong, including the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat sen University, and the First People's Hospital of Guangzhou, have carried out fecal microbiota transplantation treatment.

At the same time, the above-mentioned gastroenterologists stated that the current fecal microbiota transplantation treatment in China is still in the exploratory stage and there is no unified standard. Therefore, to ensure the safety of fecal microbiota transplantation, he also called on major fecal collection institutions to conduct strict screening, and the industry to determine standards as soon as possible to ensure that healthy and high-quality feces are included in the research and treatment.