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.

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