Someone made close to $180,000 last year just by going to the bathroom!
I know that sounds weird but selling poop is a real, medically legitimate way to earn money.
How to get paid to donate stool: Several programs actively pay stool donors in 2026. Human Microbes ($500/sample, remote-friendly) is the highest-paying. GoodNature pays up to $1,500/month in Tempe, AZ. Give a Crap MN pays $30/sample in Roseville, MN. Thaena accepts US donors nationwide but doesn’t disclose pay publicly. Realistic earnings for qualified donors run $500–$1,500/month. The catch: 97–99% of applicants don’t qualify. Keep reading to find out if you have a shot.
There’s just one problem: qualifying is brutally hard.
But there are a few things you can do before applying that may improve your odds.
In this post, I’ll show you what active stool donor programs actually pay, which poop donor programs are still accepting applicants in 2026, and what actually affects your chances of qualifying.
Table of Contents
How Much Can You Get Paid to Donate Stool?
Here’s what active US programs are currently paying:
| Program | Pay Per Sample | Realistic Monthly Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| Human Microbes | $500 | $1,500+/mo |
| GoodNature (Tempe, AZ only) | $25–$75/visit | Up to $1,500/mo |
| Give a Crap MN (Roseville, MN only) | $30 | $600–$900/mo |
| Thaena | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
This table covers US programs only. If you’re outside the US, I’ve included international options further down in this post.
What about that $180,000/year number?
Human Microbes pays $500 per sample. If you donated every day and every sample got accepted, you’d hit $180,000 annually.
That’s the math, but it’s a ceiling, not a typical outcome.
A realistic range for an active, qualified stool donor is $500–$1,500 per month.
Two things directly affect your pay:
- Sample quality: Most programs only pay for accepted samples. If yours doesn’t pass quality testing, you don’t get paid for that donation.
- Donation frequency: Most donors average 4–5 times per week, not every day.
Compared to other ways to get paid using your body, fecal donation pays significantly more per session than plasma donation, but the qualification bar is far higher.
What Is Stool Donation, and Why Does It Pay So Much?
Some people have gut bacteria so healthy that their stool can literally save lives.
Doctors transfer it into sick patients to restore gut balance.
This is called a fecal microbiota transplant, or FMT.
The main condition it treats is C. diff, a bacterial infection that hits around 500,000 Americans every year and kills roughly 29,000 of them, according to research in BMC Infectious Diseases.
When antibiotics fail, FMT works 80–95% of the time at stopping C. diff from coming back, per Cleveland Clinic.
Here’s why fecal transplant compensation is so high: the donors programs need are genuinely rare.
Decades of antibiotic overuse, ultra-processed diets, and chronic illness have quietly eroded the microbiome diversity most humans once had.
Most adults today carry gut bacteria that programs won’t accept.
Researchers sometimes call the most qualified applicants “super donors,” people whose microbiome is so unusually diverse that their stool produces consistently strong outcomes in FMT patients.
Finding them is genuinely hard.
That’s why a single qualifying stool sample from the right fecal transplant donor is worth $500 to a program.
And why the stool donation process involves months of testing before you see a dime.
Where to Donate Stool for Money in 2026
You can sell your poop, but you can’t just walk into any clinic and do it.
Only a handful of programs around the world are actively paying poop donors right now.
To find the legit ones, I spent about 8 hours digging through official program pages, clinical listings, and recruitment details so you don’t have to.
Here are the highest paying programs that pay you for your stool:
1. GoodNature (by Seres Therapeutics)
GoodNature is an in-person poop donor program with one US location: Tempe, Arizona, near Arizona State University.
Each visit takes about 20 minutes, and you get paid the same day.
What They Pay
- $25 to $75 per donation visit
- Up to $1,500 per month for consistent donors
- $250 to $500 bonus for donating 4 to 6 days per week over a 4-week cycle
- Paid same day via reloadable card
Who Can Apply
- Location: Must live or work within 20 minutes of Tempe, Arizona
- Age: 18 to 50 years old
- Health: Regular bowel movements, healthy weight, non-smoker, no history of GI disease, no alcohol or drug abuse
- Commitment: 4 to 5 visits per week, ideally for 6 months or longer
How to Sign Up
- Apply at goodnatureprogram.com
- Complete a phone screen with a GoodNature specialist
- Provide a few initial stool samples at the Tempe center to confirm eligibility
Don’t live near Tempe? GoodNature also runs R&D studies that accept mail-in donations from donors across the US. These pay less and require fewer donations, but are worth checking if you’re not local.
2. Human Microbes
Human Microbes is the highest-paying stool donor program on this list.
You donate at home, ship on dry ice, and set your own schedule.
All shipping costs are covered, and you get paid upfront before anything ships.
What They Pay
- $500 per stool donation (default rate)
- Up to $180,000 per year for daily donors
- You can set your own price above $500 if you choose
- Their site lists up to $1 million per sample for exceptional donors. That’s technically what they publish, but treat it as a ceiling so extreme it’s essentially theoretical. Don’t factor it into any realistic expectation.
- All shipping, dry ice, and materials covered by the recipient
Who Can Apply
- Location: Worldwide (anywhere with access to dry ice)
- Age: Ideally under 30; under 18 accepted with signed parental consent
- Health: Exceptional physical and mental health. Think top young athletes; minimal lifetime antibiotic use; specific Bristol Stool Type required
How to Sign Up
- Fill out the stool donor health questionnaire
- Complete stool type and physical fitness verification
- Do a video interview with their team
- Complete stool and blood testing (costs covered)
Human Microbes works differently from the other programs on this list. Rather than supplying hospitals or clinical trials, it connects qualified donors directly with individuals and researchers seeking FMT outside traditional medical settings. That’s legal, but it’s a different model so make sure you understand what you’re participating in before you commit.
By the way, your identity stays anonymous by default.
3. Give a Crap MN (by Ferring Pharmaceuticals)
Give a Crap MN (run by Ferring Pharmaceuticals via their Rebiotix subsidiary) runs one of the more accessible stool donor programs in the US.
No appointment needed, you just walk in during donation hours at their Roseville, Minnesota facility.
What They Pay
- $30 per qualifying donation
- Up to $420 per week if you donate twice daily, 7 days a week
- $50 bonus for each COVID-19 screening (required every 2 weeks)
- Paid via direct deposit every ~6 weeks
Who Can Apply
- Location: Roseville, Minnesota only (2660 Patton Road)
- Age: 18 to 54 years old
- Health: Standard FMT donor requirements, no GI conditions, healthy weight, no recent antibiotics; must be COVID-19 vaccinated
- Donation hours: Mon-Fri 6am-5pm, Sat-Sun 8am-12pm
How to Sign Up
- Start the process at giveacrapmn.com
- Complete a pre-screening call to confirm eligibility
- Attend an in-person orientation at the Roseville facility (includes blood and COVID screening)
Your donation goes toward Rebyota, the first FDA-approved single-dose treatment for recurring C. diff infections.
A qualifying donation requires completed paperwork, a minimum sample weight of 70 grams, and staying current on your routine screenings.
Donors also get access to free healthy snacks and are eligible for prizes and giveaways.
4. Thaena
Thaena is a functional microbiome company that turns donor stool into postbiotic supplements.
They are very strict. According to the company, only about 0.1% of applicants qualify.
What They Pay
- Compensation is provided, but the exact amount isn’t publicly disclosed
- All clinical testing and screening costs are covered
Who Can Apply
- Location: U.S.
- Age: 18 to 45 years old
- Must have been born vaginally and breastfed as an infant
- Health: Healthy BMI, daily bowel movements, whole-food diet, regular exercise, no history of GI, autoimmune, metabolic, or mental health conditions, no prescription medications, no tobacco or drug use, minimal lifetime antibiotic exposure
How to Sign Up
- Apply through the Thaena donor program page
- Complete detailed health and lifestyle questionnaires
- Complete a physician interview and full clinical lab screening (blood, stool, urine)
If you’re accepted, ongoing participation depends on staying healthy over time. Thaena continuously monitors donors and will pause collections if anything throws off your gut balance, including stress or major life changes.
This isn’t a one-time signup. It’s a long-term commitment where your eligibility can change as your health changes.
5. BiomeBank
BiomeBank is a TGA-licensed stool bank based in Adelaide, Australia, and the maker of BIOMICTRA®, the world’s first fully regulated donor-derived FMT therapy.
They pay donors for their time, though the exact amount isn’t publicly listed.
What They Pay
- Time reimbursement provided. Exact amount not publicly disclosed
- Free health check and snacks included with each donation visit
Who Can Apply
- Location: Adelaide metropolitan area, South Australia
- Age: 18 to 50 years old
- Health: No active medical conditions, not pregnant, no antibiotics in the past 3 months, no smoking, no gut disorders
- Commitment: 8-week donation period, multiple donations per week on-site in Thebarton
How to Sign Up
- Submit your contact details and complete the online assessment
- Attend an in-person clinical assessment in Thebarton (interview, stool and blood screening, nasal swab)
BiomeBank is very selective with who they accept. Based on published data, only about 4.5% of people who apply actually make it through and become donors. If you’re approved, your donations go toward treating patients with recurrent C. difficile infections in hospitals across Australia.
6. Amili
Amili is a Singapore-based gut microbiome company that pays stool donors to contribute samples for microbiome research across Southeast Asia.
What They Pay
- SGD $30 (roughly USD $22)
- Paid via PayNow or bank transfer
- One-time payment
Who Can Apply
- Location: Singapore
- Age: 21 or older
- Health: No health or lifestyle requirements
How to Sign Up
- Fill out the online donor survey
- Use the collection kit they mail you to send back your sample
- Complete a follow-up questionnaire
If your sample meets their standards, Amili may invite you into their FMT (fecal microbiota transplant) donor program. In this program, stool donations are used to treat patients with C. difficile infections and other gut conditions.
It’s not open enrollment. You only get in if you’re invited, and that depends on passing a full medical and health screening first.
7. Number2
Number2 is a stool donor program run out of The Rowett Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland.
They pay a monthly expense reimbursement for your time and travel, though the exact amount isn’t publicly listed.
What They Pay
- Monthly expense reimbursement via direct deposit
- Exact amount not publicly disclosed. You have to contact them directly to ask
Who Can Apply
- Location: Aberdeen, Scotland only
- Age: 18 to 60 years old
- Health: Regular bowel movements, healthy weight, non-smoker, no prescribed medications, no history of GI disease, depression, anxiety, or substance abuse
How to Sign Up
- Complete the online health questionnaire
- Attend a 1-hour in-person screening at The Rowett Institute (includes blood and stool samples)
- Approved donors donate a minimum of 3-4 days per week (at home with driver pickup or in person)
Donations go toward developing treatments for gut infections, IBD, and even conditions like Parkinson’s and motor neurone disease. You can stay in the program as long as you want and take holidays normally.
8. Asia Microbiota Bank
Asia Microbiota Bank (AMB) is Asia’s first commercial stool bank, based in Hong Kong.
They pay HK$200 per sample, but getting accepted is tough. Out of roughly 10,000 early applicants, only 15 made the cut.
What They Pay
- HK$200 per sample (roughly USD $26)
- Up to HK$4,800 per month (roughly USD $615) for consistent donors
- Payment method not publicly listed
Who Can Apply
- Location: Hong Kong only
- Age: 18 to 50 years old
- Health: Healthy digestive system, BMI under 30, no medications or antibiotics in the past 3 months
- Commitment: Minimum 3 donations per week for at least 3 months
How to Sign Up
- Fill out the online health survey
- Complete blood, stool, and urine screening tests at their lab
- Some applicants also undergo gut bacteria DNA sequencing as a final step
The approval process can take up to three weeks.
AMB runs one of the strictest screening programs out there, using a 150-point questionnaire plus a 50-item health check. It’s very thorough, so you should expect a detailed vetting process before you’re cleared for your first donation.
9. 1000MYMicrobiome
This is a gut microbiome research study run by Monash University Malaysia in partnership with AMILI.
It’s a one-time, mail-in participation with no repeat visits required.
What They Pay
- RM50 (roughly USD $11) paid as an AEON or Grab voucher, not cash
- You also get a free personal gut microbiome report
Who Can Apply
- Location: Malaysia (nationwide mail-in; saliva sample required in person if you’re within 10km of Monash’s Bandar Sunway campus)
- Age: 18 or older
- Health: No strict requirements, but disclose any medications or gastrointestinal conditions on your form
How to Sign Up
- Fill out the online registration form
- Complete the health, diet, and lifestyle questionnaire
- Collect and mail back your stool and urine samples using the kit they send you
This study is designed to profile 1,000 Malaysian gut microbiomes, which means spots are limited. It launched in 2023, so availability may already be tight.
What About OpenBiome?
You’ll see OpenBiome mentioned in a lot of articles about selling poop for money.
Here’s what you need to know: OpenBiome was the largest stool bank in the US for years, but it shut down its donor collection program. It now operates as a foundation focused on microbiome research and no longer collects donor stool or pays donors.
Any article still listing OpenBiome as an active option is out of date. Don’t waste your time applying there.
How to Find Stool Donation Programs Near You
If the companies above don’t work out, you may still be able to get paid to donate stool through local hospitals, universities, research centers, and fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) clinics.
Academic medical centers and research hospitals regularly recruit healthy stool donors for microbiome research studies and fecal transplants.
Pay is usually lower than dedicated stool banks, typically around $40 to $100 per approved sample, but these programs are often much easier to find locally.
A good place to start is searching ClinicalTrials.gov for actively recruiting fecal donation studies.
You can also search Google for terms like “stool donation near me,” “FMT clinic near me,” “fecal transplant clinic,” or “microbiome research study” along with your city.
Many smaller clinics don’t publicly advertise donor programs unless they’re actively recruiting, so it’s worth calling or emailing nearby gastroenterology clinics, research hospitals, or fecal transplant centers to ask if they currently accept donors or maintain a waiting list.
You can also browse paid clinical trials near you, since many stool donation and microbiome studies recruit participants through the same research networks.
Do You Qualify? Stool Donor Requirements Explained
This is where most people get eliminated.
Programs aren’t just looking for “pretty healthy” people. They want exceptional health with a very specific lifestyle profile.
Here’s a quick self-check before you spend time applying:
- Are you between 18 and 48 years old?
- Is your BMI in the normal range (roughly 18.5–30)?
- Do you have regular, consistent bowel movements?
- Have you been antibiotic-free for at least 6 months?
- Do you have no history of GI disease, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, HIV, or hepatitis?
- Do you not smoke or use recreational drugs?
- Are you not pregnant?
If you answered no to any of those, programs will almost always disqualify you before you reach the microbiome testing stage.
If you answered yes to all of them, you might have a shot.
Before you apply, here’s what you can actually do to improve your odds.
How to Improve Your Chances Before You Apply
Most of what determines your microbiome is outside your control. But a few things are controllable, and doing them in the months before you apply can make a real difference.
Eat at least 30 different plant foods per week
A landmark study by the American Gut Project found that people who ate 30 or more different plant varieties per week had significantly more diverse gut microbiomes than those who ate fewer than 10.
That diversity is exactly what stool donor programs test for. It doesn’t have to be exotic.
Rotating your vegetables, grains, nuts, herbs, and spices all count toward the 30.
Stay off antibiotics for as long as possible
Programs require at least six months antibiotic-free before screening, but longer is better.
Antibiotics don’t just kill bad bacteria. They disrupt the entire microbial ecosystem that programs are paying for.
If you’re thinking about applying, avoid antibiotics unless medically necessary in the months leading up to it.
Stop taking probiotics well before screening
This surprises most people. Probiotic supplements can temporarily alter what shows up in microbiome testing and may flag you as ineligible.
Most fecal donation programs list current probiotic use as a disqualifying factor. If you take them regularly, stop well before you apply.
The Factor You Can’t Control
Even if you follow every tip above and pass every health check, your microbiome itself has to qualify.
Programs test for hundreds of pathogens and analyze the diversity of your gut bacteria, something shaped by years of diet, antibiotic history, and genetics that you can’t quickly fix.
OpenBiome’s published data puts the pass rate at around 3%. Human Microbes estimates fewer than 0.1% of people qualify as high-quality super donors.
That’s not meant to discourage you. I am just being honest so you don’t get your hopes too high.
Additional Commitment Requirements
Passing the health screening is only part of it.
Programs also expect a significant ongoing commitment:
- Donating 4–5 times per week at consistent times (usually mornings)
- Living within 20 minutes of a donation center, for in-person programs
- Committing to at least 6 months of donations
- Monthly blood draws and health check-ins
- Avoiding antibiotics, new tattoos, probiotics, and travel outside the US/Canada during your donor period
- Limiting alcohol to no more than 3 drinks per sitting
These are the actual requirements listed by GoodNature.
Human Microbes has a similar profile for in-person donors, though the remote shipping option offers more flexibility on location.
Keep in mind that even a single antibiotic course can knock you out mid-program. You could lose weeks or months of income while your microbiome recovers, with no sick pay. That’s a real risk to understand before you commit.
What the Screening Process Actually Looks Like
Most programs take 4–8 weeks from your first application to your first paid donation, if you make it through.
Here’s the step-by-step:
- Online health questionnaire. Your first filter. Answer questions about your age, weight, health history, medications, and lifestyle. Most people get eliminated here.
- Phone screen. If you pass the questionnaire, a program specialist calls to dig deeper into your eligibility. Usually 20–30 minutes.
- Initial stool samples. You provide 3–10 stool samples so the program can test your microbiome. This is where many otherwise healthy people get rejected.
- Blood testing. Screens for pathogens including HIV, hepatitis A, B and C, syphilis, and others.
- Approval and orientation. If you pass everything, you attend a short orientation and start donating. Most programs base this process on GoodNature’s documented donor framework.
Worth knowing: programs typically don’t pay you for your first batch of donations until you pass the final round of testing. You could donate for several weeks before you see any money.
Is Donating Stool Worth It?
That depends entirely on who you are.
Here’s an honest look at both sides.
The Case For It
- The pay is real. $500–$1,500 per month is meaningful extra income, especially for something that takes 20 minutes per visit.
- You’re actually helping people. C. diff kills around 29,000 Americans a year. Your donation can directly contribute to treating patients who’ve exhausted other options.
- Low physical effort. Unlike plasma donation, there’s no needle, no recovery time, and no physical side effects.
- Human Microbes lets you work remotely. If you qualify, you ship from home on your own schedule. No commute, no fixed hours.
The Case Against It
- The rejection rate is brutal. Fewer than 3% of applicants pass full screening at most programs. Human Microbes puts it closer to 0.1%. Spending weeks on the process only to get rejected is a real possibility.
- The schedule is rigid. For in-person programs, you need to produce a sample and be at a center 4–5 mornings per week. Your bathroom schedule has to cooperate.
- One illness can end your earning period. A single antibiotic course, even for something minor, can suspend you for months. There’s no sick pay.
- The lifestyle restrictions are significant. No new tattoos, no probiotics, limited alcohol, limited travel outside the US and Canada. For as long as you’re an active donor.
- Location limits your options. GoodNature’s only US location is Tempe, AZ. If you’re not within 20 minutes of there, your main options are Human Microbes’ remote program or a local research trial.
How It Compares to Other Ways to Get Paid to Donate
Stool donation has the highest pay ceiling of any common donation type, but also the highest barrier to entry.
If you don’t qualify, your next best options depend on how much time and physical commitment you want to put in.
- Sperm donation has a moderate rejection rate and can pay up to $1,500/month for consistent donors.
- Egg donation pays far more per cycle but involves a significant medical process.
- For something with a much lower barrier, bone marrow donation is worth understanding, though compensation varies widely by program.
Here’s how the numbers stack up:
| Donation Type | Typical Monthly Pay | Rejection Rate | Location Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stool | $500–$1,500 | 97–99% | Mostly yes |
| Plasma | $400–$800 | Low | Yes |
| Sperm | $100–$1,500 | Moderate | Yes |
| Eggs | $8,000–$15,000/cycle | Moderate | Yes |
| Bone marrow | Varies by study | High | Yes |
If you don’t meet the stool donor profile, plasma is the most accessible fallback. Lower pay, but most healthy adults qualify with no microbiome testing involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you really make $180,000 a year donating stool?
Technically yes, but it’s the extreme ceiling. Human Microbes pays $500 per sample, and if you donated every single day with every sample passing quality testing, the math works out to $180,000. A realistic expectation for an active, qualified donor is $500–$1,500 per month.
Why are stool donors paid so much?
Because qualified donors are genuinely rare. Decades of antibiotic use, processed diets, and widespread gut health issues mean most adults don’t have the microbiome diversity these programs need. When programs find a super donor whose stool consistently produces strong patient outcomes, that biological material has real commercial and medical value, and programs pay accordingly to keep them coming back.
Is selling poop legal?
Yes. The FDA doesn’t prohibit financial compensation for stool donors, and programs frame payment as reimbursement for your time, similar to how plasma donation centers operate. There’s nothing illegal about getting paid to donate stool in the US.
Can you donate stool if you have IBS?
No. Any documented history of GI disorders, including IBS, Crohn’s disease, or ulcerative colitis, is an automatic disqualifier at virtually every stool donor program. Programs need donors with clean, stable gut health, and IBS puts you outside that profile.
Do stool donation programs test for drugs?
Yes. Blood screening and the health questionnaire both cover recreational drug use, and it’s a disqualifying factor at most programs, including marijuana even in states where it’s legal. If you’re currently using recreational drugs, you won’t qualify.
How long does stool donor screening take?
Most programs take 4–8 weeks from your first application to your first paid donation, assuming you pass every step. The process involves an online questionnaire, a phone screen, initial stool samples, blood testing, and an orientation visit before you start donating regularly.
Do you pay taxes on stool donation income?
Yes. The IRS considers stool donation payments taxable income, and if you earn more than $600 from a single program in a year, expect a 1099. Set aside roughly 25–30% for taxes, since programs don’t withhold anything on your behalf.
Can you donate stool from home?
Yes, through Human Microbes. You collect at home, freeze the sample, ship on dry ice, and they cover all shipping costs. It’s the only major fecal donation program that doesn’t require you to live near a donation center.
Does donating stool hurt?
No. You collect a sample the normal way, in a provided container, with no needles, no medical procedure, and no recovery time. It’s about as low-effort as a bodily donation gets.
How I Researched This
I spent around 8 hours researching this post across official program pages, clinical listings, and recruitment portals for each program listed. Sources included ClinicalTrials.gov, individual stool bank websites, Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ Rebiotix program documentation, Seres Therapeutics’ GoodNature donor pages, Human Microbes’ donor portal, Thaena’s donor program page, BiomeBank’s published acceptance data, and published peer-reviewed research from PubMed and BMC Infectious Diseases. I cross-referenced pay rates, age requirements, and eligibility criteria directly from each program’s own pages rather than relying on third-party summaries. In total, I reviewed 22 sources for this article.
Ready to Apply?
If you read through the requirements and still think you qualify, it’s worth spending 10 minutes finding out.
The application is free, the questionnaire is online, and you’ll know quickly whether you’re even in the running.
Start with Human Microbes if you want the most flexible option with the highest fecal transplant compensation per sample.
Start with GoodNature if you’re near Tempe, AZ and prefer an in-person structured program.
In the Twin Cities? Check out Give a Crap MN.
For everyone else in the US, search ClinicalTrials.gov for recruiting studies near you.
Outside the US? I’ve covered programs in Australia, Singapore, Scotland, Hong Kong, and Malaysia further up in this post.
If stool donation isn’t a fit, there are other legitimate ways to get paid using your body, including plasma donation, which has a much lower rejection rate and centers in most cities.
You can also browse paid research studies or unusual ways to make extra money if you want more options.
Either way, getting paid to donate stool is one of the more unusual and potentially lucrative options out there for the right person.
