Scientists in London are hunting for donors to help research into faecal transplants - by handing over their 'super poo' filled with healthy gut bacteria.

The study at King's College London is using small samples of poo from donors as an effective and natural treatment for gut problems, including irritable bowel syndrome.

The faecal transplant is inserted into the patient's body via a colonoscope, through the rectum, or a nasojejunal tube, through the nose into the small bowel.

King's College London is looking for healthy faecal donors of average weight and good mental health, who do not take medication, to donate their poo on a regular basis.

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Jacques-Henri Meurgey, 25, is a faecal donor and final year medical student at King's College London.

He urges people to get over the stigma of faecal donation and potentially save lives.

Donor Jacques-Henri said: "My friends and family think it's weird.

"I've spoken with the director of the research and they've had trouble recruiting, it's not embarrassing.

"It may be awkward but you could be saving someone's life every day.

"You just do it at home and then bring it to the hospital in a white bucket and no one knows what you're doing.

"Of all the things you can donate, blood, bone marrow, it is painless and so easy to do - just think about saving someone's life.

"I donate as often as I can, about once a month, I live quite close to the hospital so it is quite easy for me.

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Dr Simon Goldberg, consultant microbiologist and infection control doctor, is directing the research at King's College London.

He said: "Most patients will be fine after taking a course of antibiotics, their gut flora will recover in weeks or months but some people's gut flora is unable to recover - developing into C.difficile - and that is where this treatment can help.

"C.dificile is linked to elderly patients and those over 65 who have been in and out of hospital with lots of courses of antibiotics for skin infections.

"We have had a high success rate treating C.difficile, every one who we have accepted through that process has proved a good donor when treating C. difficile.

"Ulceritive colitis is more difficult to treat so there may be other factors present in each donor that we don't know about - the condition most often hits those in their early 20s."

The presence of antibiotics in the gut disrupts the microbial flora and is commonly what causes cases of C.difficile to develop in patients, especially the elderly, who have been repeatedly treated with antibiotics.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics state there were 1,646 UK deaths involving clostridium difficile In 2012.

The faecal transplant treatment provides an injection of healthy microbial culture to the patient's gut that can help their gut flora recover to a natural balance and permanently treat what can be a fatal condition.

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Dr Goldberg added: "The treatment we are using could be beneficial for any condition disruption of the gut flora, that includes autism, Parkinson, diabetes, depression and anxiety.

"These conditions have an association with disrupted gut flora but we don't know what would change if we restored their gut with healthy flora.

"Our next study will look at helping people with liver cirrhosis, but it's difficult to say whether this can help yet.

"All our donors go through a rigorous screening process, so they have no illness, aren't taking medication and are a normal weight.

"We've turned down donors for being on antibiotics or being overweight, also if they have recently been to a tropical country."

Dr Goldberg said it's not just as easy as 'swallowing poo' and urges people not to try it at home.

He said: "I would absolutely not recommend that people do this at home, you've got to select your donor very carefully, it's not just a case of swallowing poo.

"We do lots of testing of the faecal donations so no infectious diseases can be passed on."