Items/meds To Donate- Where To Send?

[RN Randy]

Hey all,

I've always been interested in medical missionary work and have casually put aside things I run across that get tossed out or given away. It seems that my pile has become a rather nice bag of goodies and I'd like to put it into use somewhere.

But where?? Also, what is acceptable? Meds? [my mother just dropped a case of albuterol on me, saying she tried to send it back for 'insurance credit' but they wouldn't take it back... already billed, they say... ha.. our health system is a wasteful money-sucking joke.]

Anyway.... here's a list of stuff I've collected in a pretty short time:

Albuterol:

Good till 12/08, 8 box count, unit dose, total 200 unit doses.

Flonase/Fluticasone, good till 8/08, 3 box count, total 3 bottles.

Stethoscopes:

several cheap type, all metal parts, single tube types,

a sprague or two, and two brand new spragues I got for Christmas.

Instruments:

a few forceps, hemostats, pickups, sissors and such that came out of suture removal kits that people broke open for one item or the other. No longer sterile.

Disposables:

I have a bunch of abd pads/4x4 and various items I cleaned out of my jump kit and from the local EMS guys that are expired but unopened...

I just refuse to believe an expired clean item is trash in a third world country.

Several pads/sponges still in date.

Also, a bunch of IV supplies, maybe a couple IV caths/jelco, probably expired but new/unopened. I'd say two boxes worth of alcohol pads lying loose, a primary line, some chlorhexadine vial swabs, a few saline flushes and a several half-used rolls of transpore tape.

Anyway you get the idea. It isn't much, probably two shoeboxes full, but I'd like to send it to someone that can use it.

Something to think about... this is just stuff that I saw lying around, being thrown out, but mostly stuff people put in my hand and asked me to throw away; so I just slipped it into my pocket instead. So can you imagine what we could dig up if we put effort into saving our "trash"..??

I'm thinking if my mother is being sent meds that her plan forces her to take but she doesn't use... why not put an ad in the paper and see if anyone else is willing to offer up ?

However; the point here is to find a useful place for these items and meds I have now.

Any help appreciated, and thanks.

Randy

[Lizziefive]

I worked at a rural clinic in Guatemala. I KNOW they need the stuff you listed.

visit http://www.aktenamit.org

you can send it to the address in guatemala city and write PARA CLINICA - MARIA

on the box.. they will know what to do with it. When I was there we got random donations all the time- someone even sent surgical and vent equipment which was a waste since we dont have either..

good luck! thanks!

liz

[RN Randy]

Great, thanks! I was wondering if I'd have to just hand it off to someone locally and hope it didn't lay and waste.

thanks much!

rb

[KatieBell]

You are in West Virginia. Lots of Large Hospitals have a Med-recycle program done by Med students on those campuses. (Seen this at 3 places so far)...you can try that, though they dont do the drugs. You can mail it all to "Feed the Children" who will give you a nice tax deductable letter. Or depending on what part of W. VA you are in there is a womderful group in Maryland...Dr's United Medical Missions. If you want more info on them, let me know. I did a few projects with them and they do a ton of surgical stuff so in date steril anything would be a boon.