A man was intentionally bitten by hundreds of venomous snakes, and his blood is now being used in life-saving treatment.

What you need to know

• Man bitten by more than 200 snake species helps scientists develop new anti-venom drug

• Herpetologist and venom expert Tim Friede has voluntarily been bitten by hundreds of venomous snakes over 20 years.

• His efforts have allowed researchers to create anti-venom cocktails that can reduce the effects of certain snake bites.

One man voluntarily confessed that he had been bitten by more than 200 snakes. Scientists believe his work on building immunity to venomous snakebites may help snakebite victims in the future.

Tim Friede, described as a self-taught herpetologist and venom expert by the biotech company Sentivax, has voluntarily been bitten by hundreds of venomous snakes over the course of 20 years. According to scientists who published a study in the journal last year, cell Friede’s work on antitoxin antibodies has allowed researchers to develop antivenom cocktails that can reduce the effects of certain snakebites.

Friede said in an interview with NBC News and Science News last year that he had a “simple curiosity” about venomous animals for years before he started injecting himself with small amounts of snake venom to develop immunity. He increased the amount of venom he injected (which he extracted from the snake himself) to build up his tolerance before being bitten directly by the snake.

“It was very scary at first,” Friede told NBC. “But the more you do it, the better you get and the calmer you become.”

He admitted to NPR last year that his experiment had been a “rocky road,” recalling that he was “bitten by a cobra twice and ended up in intensive care,” which left him “in a coma for four days.”

However, through this process, Friede managed to acquire immunity to various deadly snakes, including the black mamba, king cobra, and tiger snake.

He told NBC that he hopes his research serves some purpose. Friede took the time to email the scientists he found and ask them to study his resistance.

Eventually, one group of researchers contacted him and discovered that the immunity Friede had built up over decades against snakes made him a hyperimmune human blood donor with antibodies that could be used to develop antivenom.

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“What was exciting about the donor was his once-in-a-lifetime and unique immune history,” Jacob Granville, the study’s lead author and CEO of Centivax, said in a news release at the time. “In this case, he not only potentially created these broadly neutralizing antibodies, but also potentially a broad-spectrum or universal antivenom.”

“If there’s anyone who has broken through the problem of concentrating the immune system, it’s this guy, by repeated stimulation with snakes,” Glanville told NPR about Friede.

Further research is needed on antitoxins. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 81,000 and 137,000 people die from snake bites each year, and nearly three times that number result in amputations or permanent disabilities.

The process of creating antivenom can be expensive and difficult because it involves injecting large mammals, such as horses, with venom and collecting the antibodies they produce, according to NBC.

However, researchers working with Centivax analyzed Friede’s unique antitoxin antibodies, making it possible to develop a new antitoxin cocktail.

This cocktail was created by combining two Friede antibodies and a toxin blocker. The researchers found that the antivenom completely protected the mice from 13 species of snakes and partially protected them from an additional six species.

“This is extremely important because, although millions of snake envenomations occur annually, the vast majority occur in developing countries, disproportionately impacting rural areas,” Granville said of the study.

Centivax said the next phase of testing of the anti-venom treatment will be conducted in Australia using dogs brought in to treat snakebites.

“I couldn’t believe it. I really couldn’t believe it,” Friede said of learning about the study and the resulting cocktail. “I know I’m doing something for humanity and giving back to science.”

As for Friede’s snakebite habit, it’s been several years since he’s had such close contact with a venomous reptile.

”[But] “It’s great to know that you can get through it and keep your cool,” he told NPR.

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