Company Pays Up to $1,500 a Month for Stool Donors to Advance Microbiome Therapies

GoodNature, a subsidiary of biotechnology company Seres Therapeutics, is recruiting healthy adults to donate stool for use in research and development of microbiome therapies and will compensate qualifying donors as much as $1,500 a month.

The program collects stool from screened donors to advance therapies aimed at infections caused by Clostridioides difficile, commonly known as C. difficile or C. diff, and other conditions under study. C. difficile infections can cause severe gastrointestinal illness and colitis and are associated with as many as 30,000 deaths in the United States each year.

Donors must meet a set of eligibility criteria and commit to regular contributions. Applicants are required to be nonsmokers, between 18 and 46 years old, within a healthy weight range and to have consistent bowel habits. Pregnant people; those with diabetes; individuals with a history of gastrointestinal disease or substance abuse; and others with certain medical conditions are excluded. Donors must live or work near one of the program’s donation centers and are expected to make deposits four to six times per week for at least six months. Mail-in donations are not accepted; samples are delivered in person and dropped off in an on-site restroom at a research facility.

Participants also undergo clinic-based monitoring. Eligible donors receive blood draws every two to six weeks as part of ongoing screening and safety surveillance. Compensation is intended to cover time and effort, and some enrolled donors have described the program as an opportunity to make extra income while contributing to medical research.

Collected stool is processed using a proprietary series of steps intended to inactivate pathogens while isolating and preserving bacterial spores. According to materials describing the program, an initial inactivation step reduces viable pathogens, followed by purification that targets bacterial spores and a further inactivation stage designed to eliminate remaining bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. Preserved and purified spores are then encapsulated for use as a microbiome therapy or in additional research and development projects.

Encapsulated microbiome products, sometimes referred to informally as "crapsules," have been investigated in clinical settings for a range of indications beyond C. difficile, including inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s, certain liver disorders and as adjuncts in cancer treatment trials. This year, clinical studies in Canada and elsewhere have tested pills containing bacteria derived from healthy human stool in cancer patients, and individual patients have reported benefit in anecdotal cases. In one widely reported example, a Mississippi man with advanced small bowel cancer received fecal transplant pills and later entered remission; he told NBC News he understood he was "kind of a guinea pig" but had few alternatives at the time.

The program requires donors to complete an online pre-screening survey available through GoodNature’s enrollment portal. Those who pass the initial screening are contacted for further evaluation, which includes health questionnaires and laboratory testing. GoodNature and Seres Therapeutics say the approach is intended to ensure donor safety and the safety of products derived from donated material.

Regulators and researchers have emphasized the need for careful screening and processing when human stool is used for therapeutic purposes, citing risks of transmitting infectious agents if safeguards are insufficient. GoodNature’s model of in-person donation, repeated screening and laboratory inactivation and purification represents one approach to address those concerns while enabling research into microbiome-based treatments.

Prospective donors should review eligibility criteria and program requirements carefully before applying and consult a health professional if they have questions about potential risks or implications for their personal health. Interested individuals can begin the process by completing the company’s online survey to determine whether they meet initial qualifications.