Where to Donate Used Medical Equipment

December 17, 2020

Nowadays, a lot of people are turning to donations. Instead of throwing away your medical equipment and supplies (which is highly wasteful), you can donate them instead. Many people don’t have access to vital medical care and could really use the medical equipment and supplies.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, medical donations are needed more than ever now.

It can be hard to know where to donate your used medical equipment. Especially when organizations say they are “donation” centers, but they actually sell your used medical equipment to other people for a profit. Real non-profit organizations won’t sell medical equipment for a profit. They will provide used medical equipment to developing countries, facilities, and people that need it the most.

We’ll let you know which non-profit organizations are trustworthy and where you should donate. However, before that, we need to distinguish between home medical and hospital medical equipment because they are easily confused.

What is home medical equipment?

Home medical equipment is any medical equipment that can be used at home. This can include things like:

  • Beds
  • Wheelchairs
  • Thermometers
  • Feeding tubes
  • Crutches

What is hospital medical equipment?

Hospital medical equipment consists of diagnostic imaging systems and therapy machines, such as:

  • Ultrasounds
  • C-arms
  • Ventilators
  • MRIs
  • CT scanners

What should I do with my medical equipment?

Now that we know the difference between the types of medical equipment, we can give some recommendations. At Mazree, we recommend donating home medical equipment to trustworthy non-profit organizations. If you are interested in recovering value from used hospital equipment, you can use Mazree.com for that purpose.

We have compiled a list of 3 trustworthy non-profit organizations where you can donate your home medical equipment.

 

Med-Eq

Med-Eq is a non-profit organization based in Connecticut, USA. Med-Eq provides a free service where they connect donations to deserving recipients. The medical supplies are donated where there is the greatest need (in the US and developing countries). You simply give some information about the donation, your location, and whether it can be mailed or needs to be picked up. Then a representative will contact you to discuss the details of the donation further.

Med-Eq accepts a wide range of items for donations, including wheelchairs, crutches, beds, catheters, syringes, and much more. However, they won’t accept any pharmaceutical products or items that are expired. 

 

Project C.U.R.E  

Project C.U.R.E. is based in Colorado, USA. It is one of the largest non-profit organization that collects and redistributes donated medical equipment to hospitals and clinics in developing countries. Project C.U.R.E performs a needs assessment to figure out who needs donation the most, and then they send 40-foot shipping containers packed with medical equipment!

“Annually, Project C.U.R.E. delivers more than 180 cargo containers with a value of more than $60 million of donated medical equipment and supplies to under-resourced healthcare facilities in 50+ countries,” says Project C.U.R.E

 

MedShare

MedShare is another non-profit organization that provides humanitarian aid across the globe. While their headquarters is in Georgia, MedShare has donation bins across various hospitals in New York, Northern California, and Metro Atlanta. The surplus medical items are regularly picked up from these donation bins and then sorted at distribution centers to send to developing countries.

MedShare does not accept pharmaceutical products, liquids, or any items that are expired.  They accept donations for wheelchairs, patient scales, thermometers, IV poles, and much more.

Alternatively, you can also check with your local hospitals and clinics to see if they need any home medical equipment and supplies. The medical equipment would reach them very fast due to the location.


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