Watch: What’s the deal with fecal transplants?

For more than a decade, scientists have been experimenting with a procedure known as a fecal microbiota transplant, also called FMT, as a way to treat C. difficile, a potentially fatal infection.

The phrase “fecal transplants” says a lot about what this procedure is — taking poop from one person and putting it into another.

The idea is an ancient one; a therapeutic soup made with stool was allegedly referenced back in the 4th century, and was resurrected by American physicians in the 1950s. Watch this short video to learn more about exactly how all this works.