We've heard of donating blood or even your eggs for money, but poop? Well, despite the unpleasant sound (and we're sure smell) of it, it is actually possible.
Since 2013, OpenBiome has been collecting donated feces and shipping samples all over the country. Why? It's administered to patients suffering from an overgrowth of Clostridium difficile bacteria through a Fecal Micobiota Transplantation (FMT) — a.k.a. poop transplant. By introducing healthy fecal matter into a patient, they can help get rid of their infection for good.
But finding good donors isn't that easy. For one, the OpenBiome facility is located in Boston (yes, you need to donate in person). And they don't just take any fecal matter. The donor has to be healthy. Like, really healthy. In fact, according to Washington Post, of the 1,000 potential donors who have signed up, only 4% have passed the medical questioning and stool testing. "It's harder to become a donor than it is to get into MIT," co-founder Mark Smith joked.
It's also lucrative. Each time a person "donates," they receive $40 per sample. And if they come in five days in one week, they get an additional $50, which comes out to a whopping $250 a week just for using the bathroom. Donate every day and you could make $13,000 a year — and help a lot of sick people.
"Everyone thinks it's great that they're making money doing such an easy thing," fellow co-founder Carolyn Edelstein said, "But they also love to hear us say, 'Look, your poop just helped this lady who's been sick for nine years go to her daughter's graduation.'"
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