Fecal Transplants Effective, Life Changing, and Potentially Dangerous

The science of fecal transplants is moving rapidly but safety concerns need to come first

Besides diarrhea—sometimes 15 to 30 times a day—Clostridium difficile causes colitis, an inflammation of the colon. Shutterstock

Even with seven years and eight rounds of antibiotics, Megan Owen couldn’t fight an infection brought on when she drank contaminated water on a mission trip to Brazil.

The illness gave her terrible diarrhea and stomach aches that drove her to the floor in a fetal position and prevented her from going anywhere that took more than two minutes to reach a bathroom.