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This report originally appeared in the November 2009 issue of DOTmed Business News

Health experts estimate that U.S. hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities throw out thousands of tons of unused medical products and old medical equipment each year. In many cases, these are products that have been discontinued in order to convert to a newer product, are the unused components of opened procedure packs, or are sample products provided in bulk by vendors.

In many cases the equipment and devices could be in fine condition. Just because a machine is being replaced by the newest technology doesn't mean that it's useless. In fact, it's common for discarded equipment to still have some use left to it and it could be utilized by a clinic in a low-income community, at a hospital in a developing nation or any healthcare facility that cannot otherwise afford it.

Rather than disposing of these items, healthcare facilities should explore options for reuse through surplus resale or charitable donations to organizations in their community or as far away as a developing country on the other side of the globe.

Where to Go?

You might think that once you decide to donate something, it will be easy to find a taker and get it to those who need it most. That's not always the case, but there are plenty of organizations set up to help.

In fact, DOTmed.com offers a long list of companies and organizations that have registered with us as accepting or distributing donated medical equipment (http://www.dotmed.com/services/charity.html), but DOTmed does not endorse any charities and advises that an independent investigation should be done before dealing with any company.




Hospitals of Hope is one organization which has benefitted from associating with DOTmed. For the past 12 years, the charity has been providing medical supplies and equipment to communities in need around the globe. Founder and CEO, Mike Wawrzewski explained, "One success story was a hospital in Brazil where approximately 90 percent of the equipment in it was provided by donors in the U.S."

"Currently, we're focusing on re-equipping a hospital in Liberia which had been looted during the country's 13-year civil war. For the past four months, they haven't had an X-ray machine and they're the referring hospital for the whole country," Wawrzewski said. But, as the organization's name suggests, there's hope. "To date, we've already sent one container with 45 Spacelab Monitors, surgical lights and anesthesia machines. The shipment also included gurneys and hospital beds we received from a hospital contacting us through DOTmed."

There are other success stories among charitable organizations dealing with medical equipment. The American Medical Resource Foundation, now in its 20th year, has donated more than $200 million worth of medical equipment to 90 countries within the last two years alone.

Afric-med USA, a Washington DC based NGO, aims at improving living standards developing countries in through improvements to health, education, employment and community development.

"The last couple of years we have been working with HIV patients in Cameroon. We had some donated equipment and we work with private hospitals and what we're doing is whenever we have medical equipment, we go to a clinic or hospital in Cameroon and set it up," said Charles Ntungwe, American Director of the organization.

The Global Ultrasound Equipment Donation Foundation is a not-for-profit organization providing ultrasound equipment and training to clinics, hospitals, and teaching facilities in developing nations.

Then there's the Hidaya Foundation, an organization that collects new and gently used items to help the poor and needy in South Asian countries and other parts of the world, as the need arises.

For those who want to help out locally, free medical clinics are popping up in many different cities and should be considered as potential recipients for unused medical supplies or equipment. In addition, home health agencies may accept unused medical supplies or medical equipment because they will often treat patients with no insurance coverage. These organizations actually depend on donations to treat the patients they see.

Everyone Can Help

While equipment donations are appreciated, it's often just as welcomed for a company to offer time and service to train those who will be operating the machines.




"We have donated equipment and have traveled to India to install and train engineers on how to maintain the equipment," said Boyd Campbell of the North Carolina-based Southeastern Biomedical Associates, Inc. "It was through the guys at PartsSource that we learned about the India Gospel League, and they were looking for technical expertise to help them with what little equipment they had up and running. When we got to looking at what they had and didn't have, we decided to donate enough monitoring equipment to comprise an eight bed ICU, a two bed emergency room and a labor and delivery department for them."

Since the donation, the company has continued to work with them by providing technical support and shipping parts to help them keep them up and running.

As President of Pennsylvania-based Equipmed Services, Rich Schmidt has donated a considerable amount of equipment and medical supplies over the past decade.

"I feel I am doing my part to help people who don't have anything, especially medical equipment," he said. "The best and most reputable organization I have used is Feed the Children. They have a network of charitable organizations worldwide."

Mark Koenig, system director for Providence Health International for Seattle-based Providence Health & Services, works to help get unneeded and replaced medical equipment in the hands of those whom it will help.

"Whenever we throw things away before they have served their purpose, we are not being good stewards of our resources, especially when it comes to items that can potentially be life saving," he said. "We have an application process and if we feel they have the capacity to use supplies and are clearly committed, we try to help."

Don Bogutski, President for Diagnostix Plus Inc., has been thinking a great deal about the legacy of his business and understands that there are many areas in the world where gamma cameras could be put to good use to save lives and is working to make that happen.

"There are many [hospitals in these countries] that are economically too poor to afford equipment. If they were given a donation, they wouldn't have the infrastructure to take care of it," he said. "Diagnostix Plus is in the process of putting together a more comprehensive approach. We are aiming towards a series of classes that will be specific for engineers who have a good medical electronics background, without the benefit of having trained on servicing nuclear medicine equipment. We would train them here and be available to them by e-mail or by telephone for technical support."

Challenges exist

There are many potential problems that can arise when trying to donate medical equipment and many forces stand in the way of things being delivered quickly and safely.

"One of the biggest challenges is the steps you go through to make sure it gets through customs and on the receiving end, the work has been done," said Koenig. "There are a lot of delays that can add additional expense that someone has to pay."

The Bangalore Kidney Foundation was established in 1979 as a charitable institution providing free/affordable treatment to the poor and the needy suffering from renal failure. At its dialysis center, they conduct 1,700 dialysis procedures a month, making it one of the largest dialysis units in Indian state of Karnataka.

Matam Nahusharaj, director of the foundation, shared a story of receiving 10 used Baxter dialysis machines from a U.S. center last year, but when they arrived (after they paid for them to get through customs) they were outdated and no spare parts were available.

"If anyone wants to donate any equipment to a charitable institution, they should ensure that the donated equipment is in a working condition," said Nahusharaj. "Merely donating for donation sake is not appreciated. The 10 machines are sitting at our hospital. Perhaps we could realize some money by selling them off as scrap."

Koenig also said that communication can sometimes be a problem-not just due to language barriers, but because those receiving donations may be reluctant to voice any concerns about what they're receiving.

"If a donor sends equipment or supplies you have problems with, you need to let them know, or it won't get better" he said. "Building relationships and trust can be a huge challenge."

Both donor and recipient should work together to minimize any potential problems in the process. This can be anything from transportation permits, to customs or even differences in voltage output between countries which would require a transformer correction.

Donors and recipients should also remember that all this equipment, no matter what it is, will fail at some point and will need a knowledgeable engineer to repair it. That's why service donations are just as important.

OEMs Offer Help

This summer, GE made a donation of almost $2 million in medical equipment to Welch Community Hospital in West Virginia after state Senator Jay Rockefeller reached out to the company for help for the struggling hospital.

Equipment included an anesthesia machine, digital mammography machine, EKG monitor, portable fetal monitors, portable X-ray machine, ultra-sound machine, and CT scan.

"The medical equipment that GE has donated is already making an enormous difference," said Rockefeller. "The digital mammography machine means that Welch now has the equipment necessary to detect breast cancer early. And the updated X-ray machine and EKG monitor are the types of life-saving technology that every hospital should have to provide the most comprehensive patient care possible."

Of course, this is just one example of the charitable ways of the company, which contributes millions of dollars in medical equipment to developing countries each year.

As do most of the major OEMs. Whether it's Siemens or Philips or Toshiba or really, any original equipment manufacturer, the companies usually have humanitarian funds put aside each year.

When disasters hit, they work hard to get the necessary equipment to have hospitals and clinics up and running.

In October, Toshiba was quick to send money and equipment to support relief efforts in the aftermath of the earthquakes that hit Indonesia and the typhoons that wreaked havoc in the Philippines.

Following the May 12 earthquake that rocked China last year, Siemens Healthcare mobilized to donate medical equipment and services to help those in need and to rebuild clinics and hospitals in the affected areas.

New Orleans and other hard-hit cities received a fleet of mobiles and portable equipment following Katrina in 2005, including huge donations by medical companies such as Pfizer Abbott, among others.

Countries get involved

It's not just individuals, hospitals and companies who donate equipment. Many countries have groups in place devoted to providing help in this way.

In April, the United States donated $25,000 worth of medical equipment to a hospital in Ulcinj, provided by the U.S. military's European Command and presented by U.S. Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Stephen L. Kontos. The donation consisted of EKG monitors, defibrillators, and other important equipment.

Last fall, Greece donated medical equipment to a public hospital in Bitola, in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as part of a joint program of the Greek health and foreign ministries. The donation included a mammography machine, ultrasound monitor and arthroscope.

Final Thoughts

By making donations to other countries, you are not only helping them care for their citizens, but may be providing the hospital with a way to make money and survive in the long run.

When Bogutski donated nuclear equipment in Brazil back in 1988, they also sent a physicist down to train them on the equipment and seven years later, they were able to buy an updated model because they were generating income. This money was used on other equipment and life-saving medical supplies.

Most people who contribute to charities and companies insist that they aren't doing it for the glory. Still, DOTmed would like to honor those who lend a hand. Unfortunately, we didn't have the space to mention every company who helps-but we see that as a good thing since that means so many of you have taken the time to care. Your help has not gone unnoticed.

DOTmed will have some equipment available as part of the Med1 bank-approved asset sale. There may be some unsold assets which can be used for charitable purposes.

Please visit www.DOTmed.com/charity/med1/