Table 1.
Results of the donor selection and screening process.
| Donors (%) | Action | Excluded (%) | Exclusion reasonsa |
|---|---|---|---|
| 871 | Request for more information by donor | 603 (69%) | 52% (n = 311) withdrawal after reading additional information, 22% (n = 132) unable to deliver faeces 2 h after defaecation, 20% (n = 121) age >50 years,b 8% (n = 49) increased risk disturbed microbiota (bowel complains, medication use, comorbidity, depression, BMI>25 m2/kg, etc.), 5% (n = 29) other |
| 268 (100%) ↓ | Donor fills-out an extended questionnaire | 185 (69%) | 22% (n = 41) comorbidity/medication use, 22% (n = 40) BMI<18.5 or >25 m2/kg, 18% (n = 33) (history of) depression, 15% (n = 28) profession of healthcare worker,c 14% (n = 25) age >50 years,b 14% (n = 25) bowel complaints, 12% (n = 22) inability to deliver faeces <2 h, 10% (n = 19) withdrawal after completing questionnaire, 6% (n = 12) (close relative with) IBD, 5% (n = 9) frequent travelling, 4% (n = 7) risk factor for colon carcinoma,d 3% (n = 6) high risk sexual behaviour, 7% (n = 13) other |
| 83 (31%) ↓ | Interview | 17 (20%) | 65% (n = 11) donors withdrawal or failure to deliver faeces <2 h once a week, 35% (n = 6) donors excluded based on interview (IBS complaints, comorbidity, psychological evaluation, patient contact, atopy) |
| 66 (25%) ↓ | Faecese screening | 47 (71%) | 89% (n = 42) Dientamoeba fragilis, 15% (n = 7) MDRO, 9% (n = 4) Blastocystis sp., 4% (n = 2) Helicobacter pylori, 2% (n = 1) Campylobacter jejuni, 2% (n = 1) Entamoeba histolytica |
| 22f (8%) ↓ | Serum screening | 0 (0%) | None |
| 22f (8%) ↓ 16 (6%) | First rescreening and donor withdrawalActive donor | 6 (27%) | Exclusion of quarantined donor suspensions: 83% (n = 5) difficulty to implement donation in daily practice, 17% (n = 1) MDRO and refusal to perform rescreening |
BMI: body mass index; IBS: irritable bowel syndrome; MDRO: multidrug-resistant organism.
aSome volunteers had multiple exclusion criteria, exclusion is displayed as the percentage of total excluded donors as result of a particular screening step.
bFrom September 2018 changed to 55 years, or 60 years with negative colon carcinoma screening.
cHigher risk of temporary carriership of pathogens.
dClose relative with colon carcinoma with an onset below the age of 50 years.
eScreening algorithm used: first screening includes: Dientamoeba fragilis, microscopy for Blastocystis sp., MDRO and Helicobacter pylori screening, if negative, then additional tests are performed (Supplementary Material Table S1).
fThree donors were excluded at first screening, successfully decolonized of MDRO, D. fragilis or E. histolytica, and they subsequently continued the donor screening program.