Times are tough and everyone is looking for ways to make an extra buck or two. You could actually be making up to $180,000 (£115,000) a year just by donating your poo. A TikTokker who’s made a side hustle out of this smelly business, has been letting her followers in on the secret.
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Faecal donation
The human gut microbiome is made up of at least 1,000 species of bacteria some of which are associated with disease, while the healthy ones interact positively with the immune system to impact several aspects of health including your heart and weight.
According to TikToker, @Isafidelino, HumanMicrobes.org offers people $500 per donation. The organization says on its website that many people have damaged gut microbiome thus the need for more research and/or procedures to battle deadly gut infections.
It is a major problem that the vast majority of people in modern society are in poor health and have damaged gut microbiome. [We meet to find] people who are healthy enough to be high-quality stool donors, and connect them with doctors, researchers, clinical trials and individuals who need to re-balance their gut microbiome.
Qualifications
Eligible donors must be between 18 and 50 and must not have caught Covid-19. Donors should also be generally healthy and not be taking prescribed medication, although the contraceptive pill is excluded from this requirement.
Prospective contributors must undergo a series of tests to verify their ‘stool type and physical fitness’, and complete a video interview. They are also required to fill out a ‘screening questionnaire.’ It is hoped that more donations would help with research.
Chronic disease and general poor health have been drastically increasing over the past decades to the point where the vast majority of the population is now extremely unhealthy. It is an exponentially worsening crisis with each generation, in large part due to the loss of our host-native microbes that get passed down generationally.
It is not such an easy buck after all as it is estimated that out of 100 enquiries, just one person will be eligible to donate.
Sources used:
NY Post: I discovered how to earn up to $180,000 per year by pooping
Open Biome: Unlocking Microbiome Science For a Healthier Future
Human Microbes: Finding the 0.1% of people with healthy, unperturbed, disease-resistant microbiomes.
