It’s tough to find a good fecal donor

Finding healthy stool donors for fecal transplant may be a tough prospect.

That’s what Australian researchers have discovered in the course of the FOCUS trial, which aims to determine whether fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is safe and efficacious in the treatment of chronic active ulcerative colitis and in the induction of remission.

Dr. Sudarshan Paramsothy and his colleagues at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and the University of Melbourne, reported findings from donor recruitment for the FOCUS (Faecal Microbiota Transplantation in Ulcerative Colitis) trial at the American Gastroenterological Association’s 2014 James W. Freston Conference in Chicago.

The FOCUS study began enrolling patients in November, and is continuing to enroll, said Dr. Paramsothy. He and his colleagues also are continuing to recruit fecal donors. The data presented in Chicago were on an initial recruitment effort.

Overall, after screening, only 10% of recruits were considered eligible donors.

The researchers recruited donors through letters, newspaper ads, and online solicitations. They were told that they would be reimbursed for their time and for the transportation of their stool donations to the study site.

After responding, recruits were told that they would be expected to make stool donations five times a week for a minimum of 6 weeks.

The researchers had 116 potential donors over a 7-month recruitment period. Forty-seven declined off the bat because of the 5-day-a-week donation requirement.

Twenty-seven had other issues, including medical cormibidities (13), risk factors for variant Crueztfeldt-Jakob disease (6), and recent antibiotic use (1), that disqualified them from the study.

Thirty-eight potentially healthy donors underwent stool and blood testing. Fifteen of those donors were found to have a variety of parasites or indications of active infection that excluded them from donation: 5 had Dientamoeba fragilis, 5 had Blastocystis hominis, 1 had B. hominis and D. fragilis, 1 had Giardia intestinalis and D. fragilis, and 1 had norovirus and Clostridium difficile toxin, and 2 had leukocytes or erythrocytes on stool microscopy. One donor had indeterminate hepatitis C serology.

While it is not uncommon for people to have asymptomatic parasite carriage in the gastrointestinal tract, "we did not expect it in such a high proportion," said Dr. Paramsothy. "Our screened donor population was not an at-risk group," he said, adding that they were otherwise healthy and had no risk factors or gastrointestinal symptoms.

"Our detection rates may have been slightly higher as donor stool samples were sent to a pathology center with expert, specialized GI parasitologists for review," Dr. Paramsothy said.

There’s also some question as to whether some parasites, such as Blastocystis and Dientamoeba, "are truly pathogenic or rather commensal organisms," he said, adding that it was thought better to exclude patients with these parasites if there were any doubt.

That left 22 potential donors. Further questioning found that two had used antibiotics in between recruitment and stool testing, and one was living with a household member who was positive for D. fragilis.

Of the 19 remaining, 1 dropped out and 18 were screened again. Three were excluded because of a body mass index over 30 kg/m², 1 because of illicit drug use, 1 because of irregular bowel movements after starting a new medication, and 1 because of uncontrolled anxiety and depression. Dr. Paramsothy said that high-BMI donors were excluded because some studies have shown that gut microbiota potentially influence insulin sensitivity and obesity. Illicit drug use is a red flag because it is potentially associated with blood-borne disease acquisition, he said.

At the end, there were only 12 healthy donors, 10% of the starting 116. Dr. Paramsothy said that it was not necessary to have a single donor for every single patient in the trial. He said he could not disclose currently the number needed for the study, however.

The donor results "suggest that while FMT is an exciting new therapy, it is difficult to identify appropriate and willing anonymous donors," Dr. Paramsothy said. But that should not have an overall impact on FMT as a therapy, he said – rather, it might just make it harder for a small practice to establish an in-house FMT program.

Dr. Paramsothy reported no relevant financial conflicts.

[email protected]

On Twitter @aliciaault

Finding healthy stool donors for fecal transplant may be a tough prospect.

That’s what Australian researchers have discovered in the course of the FOCUS trial, which aims to determine whether fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is safe and efficacious in the treatment of chronic active ulcerative colitis and in the induction of remission.

Dr. Sudarshan Paramsothy and his colleagues at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and the University of Melbourne, reported findings from donor recruitment for the FOCUS (Faecal Microbiota Transplantation in Ulcerative Colitis) trial at the American Gastroenterological Association’s 2014 James W. Freston Conference in Chicago.

The FOCUS study began enrolling patients in November, and is continuing to enroll, said Dr. Paramsothy. He and his colleagues also are continuing to recruit fecal donors. The data presented in Chicago were on an initial recruitment effort.

Overall, after screening, only 10% of recruits were considered eligible donors.

The researchers recruited donors through letters, newspaper ads, and online solicitations. They were told that they would be reimbursed for their time and for the transportation of their stool donations to the study site.

After responding, recruits were told that they would be expected to make stool donations five times a week for a minimum of 6 weeks.

The researchers had 116 potential donors over a 7-month recruitment period. Forty-seven declined off the bat because of the 5-day-a-week donation requirement.

Twenty-seven had other issues, including medical cormibidities (13), risk factors for variant Crueztfeldt-Jakob disease (6), and recent antibiotic use (1), that disqualified them from the study.

Thirty-eight potentially healthy donors underwent stool and blood testing. Fifteen of those donors were found to have a variety of parasites or indications of active infection that excluded them from donation: 5 had Dientamoeba fragilis, 5 had Blastocystis hominis, 1 had B. hominis and D. fragilis, 1 had Giardia intestinalis and D. fragilis, and 1 had norovirus and Clostridium difficile toxin, and 2 had leukocytes or erythrocytes on stool microscopy. One donor had indeterminate hepatitis C serology.

While it is not uncommon for people to have asymptomatic parasite carriage in the gastrointestinal tract, "we did not expect it in such a high proportion," said Dr. Paramsothy. "Our screened donor population was not an at-risk group," he said, adding that they were otherwise healthy and had no risk factors or gastrointestinal symptoms.

"Our detection rates may have been slightly higher as donor stool samples were sent to a pathology center with expert, specialized GI parasitologists for review," Dr. Paramsothy said.

There’s also some question as to whether some parasites, such as Blastocystis and Dientamoeba, "are truly pathogenic or rather commensal organisms," he said, adding that it was thought better to exclude patients with these parasites if there were any doubt.

That left 22 potential donors. Further questioning found that two had used antibiotics in between recruitment and stool testing, and one was living with a household member who was positive for D. fragilis.

Of the 19 remaining, 1 dropped out and 18 were screened again. Three were excluded because of a body mass index over 30 kg/m², 1 because of illicit drug use, 1 because of irregular bowel movements after starting a new medication, and 1 because of uncontrolled anxiety and depression. Dr. Paramsothy said that high-BMI donors were excluded because some studies have shown that gut microbiota potentially influence insulin sensitivity and obesity. Illicit drug use is a red flag because it is potentially associated with blood-borne disease acquisition, he said.

At the end, there were only 12 healthy donors, 10% of the starting 116. Dr. Paramsothy said that it was not necessary to have a single donor for every single patient in the trial. He said he could not disclose currently the number needed for the study, however.

The donor results "suggest that while FMT is an exciting new therapy, it is difficult to identify appropriate and willing anonymous donors," Dr. Paramsothy said. But that should not have an overall impact on FMT as a therapy, he said – rather, it might just make it harder for a small practice to establish an in-house FMT program.

Dr. Paramsothy reported no relevant financial conflicts.

[email protected]

On Twitter @aliciaault

Finding healthy stool donors for fecal transplant may be a tough prospect.

That’s what Australian researchers have discovered in the course of the FOCUS trial, which aims to determine whether fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is safe and efficacious in the treatment of chronic active ulcerative colitis and in the induction of remission.

Dr. Sudarshan Paramsothy and his colleagues at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and the University of Melbourne, reported findings from donor recruitment for the FOCUS (Faecal Microbiota Transplantation in Ulcerative Colitis) trial at the American Gastroenterological Association’s 2014 James W. Freston Conference in Chicago.

The FOCUS study began enrolling patients in November, and is continuing to enroll, said Dr. Paramsothy. He and his colleagues also are continuing to recruit fecal donors. The data presented in Chicago were on an initial recruitment effort.

Overall, after screening, only 10% of recruits were considered eligible donors.

The researchers recruited donors through letters, newspaper ads, and online solicitations. They were told that they would be reimbursed for their time and for the transportation of their stool donations to the study site.

After responding, recruits were told that they would be expected to make stool donations five times a week for a minimum of 6 weeks.

The researchers had 116 potential donors over a 7-month recruitment period. Forty-seven declined off the bat because of the 5-day-a-week donation requirement.

Twenty-seven had other issues, including medical cormibidities (13), risk factors for variant Crueztfeldt-Jakob disease (6), and recent antibiotic use (1), that disqualified them from the study.

Thirty-eight potentially healthy donors underwent stool and blood testing. Fifteen of those donors were found to have a variety of parasites or indications of active infection that excluded them from donation: 5 had Dientamoeba fragilis, 5 had Blastocystis hominis, 1 had B. hominis and D. fragilis, 1 had Giardia intestinalis and D. fragilis, and 1 had norovirus and Clostridium difficile toxin, and 2 had leukocytes or erythrocytes on stool microscopy. One donor had indeterminate hepatitis C serology.

While it is not uncommon for people to have asymptomatic parasite carriage in the gastrointestinal tract, "we did not expect it in such a high proportion," said Dr. Paramsothy. "Our screened donor population was not an at-risk group," he said, adding that they were otherwise healthy and had no risk factors or gastrointestinal symptoms.

"Our detection rates may have been slightly higher as donor stool samples were sent to a pathology center with expert, specialized GI parasitologists for review," Dr. Paramsothy said.

There’s also some question as to whether some parasites, such as Blastocystis and Dientamoeba, "are truly pathogenic or rather commensal organisms," he said, adding that it was thought better to exclude patients with these parasites if there were any doubt.

That left 22 potential donors. Further questioning found that two had used antibiotics in between recruitment and stool testing, and one was living with a household member who was positive for D. fragilis.

Of the 19 remaining, 1 dropped out and 18 were screened again. Three were excluded because of a body mass index over 30 kg/m², 1 because of illicit drug use, 1 because of irregular bowel movements after starting a new medication, and 1 because of uncontrolled anxiety and depression. Dr. Paramsothy said that high-BMI donors were excluded because some studies have shown that gut microbiota potentially influence insulin sensitivity and obesity. Illicit drug use is a red flag because it is potentially associated with blood-borne disease acquisition, he said.

At the end, there were only 12 healthy donors, 10% of the starting 116. Dr. Paramsothy said that it was not necessary to have a single donor for every single patient in the trial. He said he could not disclose currently the number needed for the study, however.

The donor results "suggest that while FMT is an exciting new therapy, it is difficult to identify appropriate and willing anonymous donors," Dr. Paramsothy said. But that should not have an overall impact on FMT as a therapy, he said – rather, it might just make it harder for a small practice to establish an in-house FMT program.

Dr. Paramsothy reported no relevant financial conflicts.

[email protected]

On Twitter @aliciaault