Tests

Because we ourselves had to look for a laboratory that wanted to test the ‘potential’ donors on faeces for us, we immediately submitted a request to put together ‘gut flora test kits’.

Due to this request and the close cooperation with the lab, we found out that the faeces test of the ndfb bank had become obsolete. There are, certainly after the first corona year, much better and newer techniques, especially the PCR test. Because all those tests have been brought in for the donor, you can now also test your intestinal flora. You can do this just once, but you can also do it before and six weeks after a transplant. This is not necessary for a transplant, but it is always nice to be able to see in numbers the change that you may or may not feel in your body. What has changed?!

We try to use all this information to gain more insight into the intestinal flora and to learn from it.

Testing gut flora for the donor

We only call an intestinal flora healthy if the donor has successfully completed the following process:

The donors are first given a questionnaire to fill in, then the faeces are tested and then the blood. If this is all right, the faeces test will be performed again before the accumulated stock can be released.

For both tests we have a collaboration with two laboratories.

donate poop

Finding a donor who passes the strict requirements is extremely difficult. Do you know or know someone who would like to help people with their healthy intestinal flora? On our donate page you can see what kind of people we are looking for! A donor must live between Amsterdam and Leiden and donate at our location. We take care of the faeces and blood tests. If approved, the donor receives a generous compensation for each donation.

The gut microbiome and the different enterotypes.

We are working, in collaboration with the lab, to develop a test that can clearly map your microbiome. While it’s been known for a long time that a healthy microbiome is essential, research has only grown significantly in recent years.

‘The gut microbiome encodes more than 3 million genes that produce thousands of metabolites, while the human genome consists of about 23,000 genes’.

Scientists discovered in 2011 that there are three types of gut flora that are most common. These are called ‘enterotypes’. Enterotypes are defined by the predominant species in the large intestine. Each species has its own group of bacteria clusters around it that break down food components in different ways, which in turn has consequences for the absorption of vitamins and minerals.

Enterotype 1. Bacteroides
Common in meat eaters. Bacteroides mainly produces vitamins C, B2, B5, B7 and H.

Enterotype 2. Prevotella
Common in people who eat plant-rich foods and omit grains, starches and fats. This type produces a lot of B1 and folic acid.

Enterotype 3. Rumminicoccus
Ruminococcus is the most common and is linked to herbivores. This type specializes in breaking down mucin, a carbohydrate that is present in the gut through our food.

Do you want to test your intestinal flora before and maybe even 6 weeks after the transplant? (not possible for EU)

Which can!

Click on one of the following links for our lab’s tests.

Microbiometest See the composition of your microbiota

Intestinal flora test A

Or would you rather be extensively tested?

Bowel flora test B

If you want to know the changes after the transplant, you can do an intestinal flora test before the transplant and again 6 weeks later.

After a week you will receive an overview of the results including the standard values with additional explanation and (nutrition) advice from our lab.

You can be tested for much more at our lab, including intestinal parasite test.

Explanation about the PCR tests of our chief lab technician

Polymerase Chain Reaction – the PCR technique explained

A frequently used technique in the laboratory of, for example, hospitals, medical universities or factories where food or water is processed and examined, is PCR. This relatively young research method – developed in the early 1980s – has been revolutionary for detecting and discovering organisms such as bacteria and viruses. For tracing and examining genetic material in forensic research, the PCR technique is also crucial for finding a perpetrator.

Since the corona pandemic of 2019, there has been a lot of talk in news and related information programs about the PCR test for SARS-COV-2: the type of coronavirus responsible for the disease COVID. But what exactly is PCR and how does it work? The abbreviation PCR stands for Polymerase Chain Reaction. Polymerase is an enzyme, chain is the English word for ‘chain’ and the word reaction is easily translated to ‘reaction’.
So it is a chain reaction that is controlled by a certain enzyme, namely polymerase. To explain which chain reaction is involved, we have to go back to the basics and that is the carrier of all hereditary material: the DNA. Every cell of a living organism contains DNA (or a derivative thereof) and is made up of four different building blocks: adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G) and cytosis (C). Those building blocks can be linked to each other in an infinite number of combinations and those combinations ultimately provide the hereditary properties. On such a strand of DNA – which is made up of those building blocks – a lot of hereditary information will correspond to that of a congener. However, there are always pieces (we call that a gene) on the strand of DNA that are very specific. For example, one bacterium can survive in an acidic environment and another cannot. The acid-loving bacterium will produce substances that make it feel good and that the acid does not affect the cell wall, while another bacterium – which is a family member – cannot and will not survive in an acidic environment.

Read more…

Please note : Because there is no further research and therefore a transplant has not been clinically proven, the purchase of the poo capsules and the intestinal flora packages, and what you do with them, is entirely at your own responsibility. Therefore, read the terms and conditions carefully before signing them.

Frederik (Denmark)

DF3

My sincere thanks to you! (Marco and donor). Words cannot describe how grateful I am to finally be able to live a normal life. I’ve suffered from IBS for ~6 years now, with 3-15 loose bowel movements EVERY day, often with mucus too. The day I took the 24 FMT capsules, I felt an instant… Read more »

Caitlin (UK)

DF3

Marco is very helpful, honest, informative, responsive to emails and took time to speak with me on the telephone. The capsules, packaging and instructions arrived as described. I am 48 and have experienced daily bowel issues beginning in childhood: abdominal pain, bloating and distention, constipation, cramps, anxiety and sometimes diarrhea. I was previously diagnosed with IBS… Read more »

anonymous

DF3

Due to many antibiotic treatments and health problems, I had a lot of intestinal complaints. I had been suffering from this for several years and had no idea how to solve the problem. Tried everything. About 2 months ago I took the capsules. After a few days I noticed an improvement and after a few… Read more »