Paid to poop: Tempe business offering money to people to use the bathroom

The company collects poop from healthy people, which is then used to create therapies and medical treatments for patients with stomach-related infections.
Published: Mar. 18, 2022 at 6:07 PM MST
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TEMPE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- It’s not a topic everyone likes to talk about, but what if you could cash in on going number 2? Now you can.

GoodNature Tempe just opened for business off University Drive and Rural Road. The company collects poop from healthy people, which is then used to create therapies and medical treatments for patients with stomach-related infections.

Jennie Starr is the Marketing and Communication Director for GoodNature, which is owned by Seres Therapeutics. “It all has to be done here, and that’s intentional,” said Starr. “We see you in person, so we have control over the materials you provide.”

Prospective donors can see if they’re eligible by filling out an online questionnaire at goodnatureprogram.com. They must then pass a phone interview and have a few stool samples taken to see if they qualify. Approved donors can then decide how many times they want to stop by every week to make a deposit, earning between $25 and $75 per visit.

“After check-in, a nurse will go through a set of questions,” said Starr. “You know which bathroom you want to go to, know the routine, leave your business, and head on out.”

Donors must be between 18 and 50 years old, be a non-smoker, don’t drink excessively, and have no history of serious illness. The Tempe facility has only been open a couple of days, and more than 150 people have already made it through the initial screening process.

Starr is hoping the allure of making money doing something you do every day while helping patients in need will get more people to sign up. “I think at the end of the day, it seems like oh, I go to the bathroom and leave what I don’t really want, right, but then you are going to give me money,” said Starr. “We really value donors who make time to do this incredible thing for people who are suffering. It’s a big deal.”

Some donors have already made more than $10,000 doing their business with the program in other cities.