Establishment of the first stool bank in an Eastern European country and the first series of successful fecal microbiota transplantations in Bulgaria

R. Nakov, I. Lyutakov, A. Mitkova, V. Gerova, V. Petkova, S. Giragosyan, R. Vatcheva-Dobrevska, R. Kaneva, V. Nakov

Clinic of Gastroenterology, Tsaritsa Yoanna University Hospital, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria. radislav.nakov@gmail.com

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• Pharmacology

OBJECTIVE: For safe implementation and broader application of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), quality controlled stool banking is a must. Establishing a stool bank is a complex, time-consuming, and expensive process, making it a real challenge in an Eastern European country. We aimed to establish the first stool bank in Eastern Europe – in Bulgaria.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A multidisciplinary team of gastroenterologists, microbiologists, infectionists, and geneticists was set up. We used a questionnaire based on the First European FMT Consensus in order to recruit possible stool donors. Laboratory blood and stool tests were performed on all potential donors.

RESULTS: Between October 2018 and April 2019, 112 donor volunteers completed a questionnaire; 70 (62.5%) were excluded, mainly because of age above 50, an unhealthy BMI, and risk behavior. Fourty-two (37.5%) donor candidates were invited for laboratory testing of blood and feces, of which 12 (28.6%) passed this screening. Of 12 donors, 4 (33%) failed at the following screening test, which is performed every 3-6 months. Finally, 8 (7.14%) active donors were enrolled. Ten successful FMTs were performed on patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection.

CONCLUSIONS: Even though we found many healthy volunteers, only a low percentage (7.14%) of them were suitable to become feces donors. Establishing a stool bank in an Eastern European country is essential for making FMT safe and more popular as a treatment method, finding further implementation and regulation of FMT and supporting physicians offering this treatment to their patients.

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