It's the Sh*t!: Belgian Researchers Look for Poop Donors

Scientists and doctors who study feces have found that it is the byproduct of a diverse community of bacteria residing in your gut that impacts your health in all sorts of ways.

A team of researchers at Ghent University hospital in Belgium are on the lookout for people who will donate their feces to study of a wide range of diseases, from bowel disorders and allergies to neurological conditions diseases.

They extract tiny organisms living in the colon, from healthy donors and transfer them to sick patients in what they hope may help repopulate their bowels with good microbiota.

"How do we find donors? That's not so easy. People do not always want to donate their feces. It is also hard to talk about, but we started this campaign in the press here in Flanders," biomedical researcher Hannelore Hamerlinck told Reuters.

Scientists believe that human excrement may prove to be an asset in finding remedies for many other diseases.

Numerous studies made over the past decade, have shown positive associations between the healing properties of feces and the treatment of depression, cancer, autism, Parkinson's disease and allergies.

"Microbes are at the center of the system. The bacteria in the gut produce hormones that will affect the brain. They also help us to clear out the bad ones and digest certain things," Hamerlinck said.

Only healthy donors are allowed to participate in the research and they must be tested over a three month period before becoming eligible to donate.