Catalonia promotes the first public fecal microbiota bank to treat serious intestinal infections.

The Catalan Ministry of Health has launched the Fecal Microbiota Bank of Catalonia , the first public bank of its kind in Spain to treat serious intestinal infections. It will allow fecal microbiota transplants for approximately 200 patients each year.

In a press conference on Wednesday, the director of the Healthcare Area of the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut), Ignasi Carrasco , stated that this is a " pioneering project " that began at the Bellvitge Hospital and the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona and is now being extended.

This database will allow all centers in the comprehensive public utilization system of Catalonia (Siscat) to access an effective and safe treatment for patients with recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections.

This project was born as a public, centralized and coordinated model , with the involvement of the Catalan Transplant Organization ( Ocatt ), the Blood and Teixits Bank ( BST ), the Bellvitge Hospital and the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona.

The director of Ocatt, Jaume Tort , has stated that, while there are already Spanish hospitals that work with samples, in the case of this bank it is " a national approach " with a program from the Regional Ministry that will allow access to all patients who need it.

To date, Bellvitge Hospital and the Barcelona Clinic have treated 171 patients with Clostridioides difficile infections using fecal microbiota transplants .

Clostridioides difficile

Clostridioides difficile infection is a serious intestinal disorder , often associated with antibiotic use, which can cause persistent diarrhea and dehydration, and can be life-threatening. 25% of cases relapse after the first treatment, and 40% of these suffer a second relapse.

The administration of fecal microbiota in these cases allows the restoration of the balance of the intestinal microbiota and the elimination of the activity of the pathogenic bacteria , with a resolution rate of 90% in the first treatment, and 100% in cases that receive a second transplant.

The treatment consists of administering intestinal microbiota from a healthy donor with the aim of restoring the patient's microbiota balance, and the main administration routes have been oral, with fecal microbiota capsules (67.8%), followed by colonoscopy (32.1%).

The head of the Fecal Microbiota Donation and Transplant Program at Hospital Clínic , Begoña González , explained that donors must be between 18 and 60 years old , have healthy lifestyle habits , not suffer from any illnesses, not have taken antibiotics in three months and not have traveled outside the European Union in six months, and said that between 5% and 7% of potential candidates end up being donors.

The head of the Digestive System Service at Bellvitge Hospital, Jordi Guardiola , has stated that the bank has the dual will of extending this therapeutic modality to the entire health system and promoting research for its use in other diseases, and has said that 'Clostridioides difficile' affects around 2,500 people a year in Catalonia .

The Catalan Microbiota Bank was created with a focus on a specific clinical problem, such as Clostridioides difficile, but it opens the door to expanding its use to other diseases and patients in the future, subject to solid scientific evidence.