Is it okay to donate unused/no longer needed medical supplies?
Jan asked:
My client has been taken off insulin,the doc says he no longer needs it.His home health care nurse has ALOT of clients on insulin who are very low income and on fixed income.Would it be okay for me (on behalf of my client) to give thse supplies to him to give to his less fortunate clients?Just
the syringes and testing strips;which are all still in the original sealed packages.The VA won’t take them back and I really feel bad just tossing them(after destroying the syringes)if someone who can not afford them could really use them.What do you think?The cost of these supplies is astronomical.
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My client has been taken off insulin,the doc says he no longer needs it.His home health care nurse has ALOT of clients on insulin who are very low income and on fixed income.Would it be okay for me (on behalf of my client) to give thse supplies to him to give to his less fortunate clients?Just
the syringes and testing strips;which are all still in the original sealed packages.The VA won’t take them back and I really feel bad just tossing them(after destroying the syringes)if someone who can not afford them could really use them.What do you think?The cost of these supplies is astronomical.
P.S. Already called several drug-rehab clinics and they said NO,they will
not accept them.
Thank you all for all your help with this,and my previous ?s.
August 2nd, 2009 at 5:56 pm
you’re not supposed to. I have the same situation, saline syringes and heparin ones that are expired. saline isn’t until June 2010, you can call a hosp or VA see if they participate in Project Cure… or any hospital or contact Project Cure on line… do what you feel is right.,I know there is a big waste in this country w medical supplies. very sad, but if can be used elsewhere, what can you do? your client’s patients really do need a med Rx for use and legally, not supposed to transfer Rx items to other patients. I’m not saying it isn’t done and it’s looked the other way.. what you think is best, some local fire departments participate in fall annual chemical roundups and destroy products, meds, chemicals, used, expired. etc..
August 4th, 2009 at 8:02 am
I looked up Project Cure and what you have doesn’t seem to apply to what they need.
I don’t see any reason why you can’t give the supplies to the nurse. I can not find any agency that will accept that type of thing to redistribute to the poor. I can not think of any legal or ethical reason why it would be wrong for you to give the supplies to the nurse to give to poor clients.
Maybe you and this nurse are on to something…
August 7th, 2009 at 12:31 am
Hi - I e-mailed Project Cure (as another reply suggested) a few months ago on behalf of a friend who had leftover unused supplies (including saline syringes) from MS treatments. They responded on the same day and said that they can use saline syringes but need them to be good for at least a year (to allow time for sorting, shipping to the place of need, and actual use). I would e-mail them with a list of your specific items. I also saw online that Seattle Humane Society accepts some items - might be something similar in your town.