Non-response can only be judged at the right time and against the benchmark set for each indication; calling it too early is as serious an error as missing it.
Before changing the protocol, work through the four causes of non-response — failed engraftment, wrong diagnosis, lifestyle sabotage, or biological resistance — each calling for a different response.
This stepwise decision tree walks you through non-response: first confirm it and find the cause, then correct lifestyle, switch donors, or intensify induction according to what's driving it.
If the first FMT brings no response, several paths remain — switching donors, stronger induction, longer consolidation, or an adjuvant therapy — each matched to the cause of non-response.
A partial response is a real, meaningful outcome: FMT is a probabilistic ecological intervention rather than an on-off drug, and even modest improvement can count for a lot.