Doctors from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi treated a 78-year-old patient with Faecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT), a procedure in which stool from a healthy individual was put into the patient's colon. This 78-year-old patient was admitted with recurrent inflammation of the large intestine and bloody diarrhoea. His stool examination showed persistence of Clostridium Difficile, which has led to Pseudomembranous Colitis (PMC).

The gut microbiome plays a pivotal role in maintaining good health and the imbalance between the good and harmful bacterial species is linked to various diseases. ‘Transplanting stool from a healthy person became the only viable option for him as FMT would help increasing good bacteria in his intestine’ said Dr Piyush Ranjan, vice-chairperson, Institute of Liver Gastroenterology & Pancreatico Biliary Sciences, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. It was reported that the patient was doing well after receiving the transplant in November 2011.

Expert comment: 'Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) or Stool Transplant is the next big thing in medicine. Dysbiosis or imbalance between good and bad bacteria in the intestine has now been implicated in the causation or progression of several diseases. Clostridium difficile infection was one of the first diseases to be treated with FMT and is the standard of care the world over. It is good to see that more and more institutions are now performing FMT in India. We did the first stool transplant of the country in 2014 and have done over 150 such procedures. We are currently studying its role in patients with Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Alcoholic liver disease, Metabolic syndrome including obesity, Parkinson’s disease and Autism Spectrum Disorder.' - Dr (Col) Avnish Seth, VSM, Head, Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, New Delhi, Head, Manipal Organ Sharing & Transplant (MOST)