What to do with all these leftover supplies?!

Hello, my name is Sarah, first time poster, longtime “guest”, nice to meet you all :).
My husband and I were doing home hemo for several years, and it really brought us closer together, despite sometimes being not much fun. Im posting because he recently died in a freak car accident. He was 34. And now I have all this …stuff.
The machine was borrowed from the clinic, as was the centrifuge, so those went back. My problem is, we had just gotten our monthly Nxstage supply delivery the day before. None of its opened, but the center said they cant take it. I have a whole month’s worth of dialysate (premixed and concentrate), saline, cartridges, not to mention warmer bags, boxes of needles, syringes, masks, gloves, etc. I have three blood pressure cuffs and two stethoscopes, a scale and all the how to books… Its overwhelming and kinda depressing.
Do I really have to just haul it all to the dump? If I could sell it, I would, as Im pretty much falling apart financially, but I really wouldn’t know where to start, and wouldn’t want to give someone something they shouldn’t have (ie: the wrong batch type or needles to a junkie)
Please, if someone has an idea of what I can do, let me know. Im at my wits end.
Thank you, and love to you all for the help you’ve given us over the years.
<3 Sarah

Sarah, I am so very sorry to hear of the death of your husband! Please accept my condolences for your loss.

If you are not a member of the Home Dialyzors United group, you might briefly join–or at least call them–and see if they have members who might want some of these supplies or know of someone on dialysis who could use them. http://homedialyzorsunited.org

Otherwise, for unused NxStage fluid, we have a tip that veterinarians use PD fluid to dialyze cats and dogs, and are happy for the donation (possibly because they still charge for the service, but at least it still gets used!). It can also be used to water plants–lots of good minerals in it. So, that’s not a total waste if you can find a nearby vet who would take it.

The rest of the equipment–BP cuff, stethoscope, etc., would likely be welcomed by an overseas relief agency (Philippines?) or even one more local to you. I did a quick Google search for “where to donate used medical equipment,” and lots of options showed up. Goodwill, St. Vincent De Paul, etc. would take these as well.

Needles and syringes may be usable overseas, or perhaps by crafters or mechanics (it can sometimes be handy to have a syringe for epoxy, etc.). I’m not sure, personally, that I’d want to take the risk of donating those anywhere, though. in case someone hurts themselves and comes back to you with a lawsuit. You could load those into a sharps box and just throw them away.

I am sorry for your loss Sarah. You can try to donate the supplies left since it can still benefit others.

Hello I’m having the same issue I would like to sale extra supplies

I’d like to thank everyone who has called us and donated supplies so far. We are humbled and appreciative. We are still collecting HD and PD supplies with plans to ship them to Africa and other developing and underserved areas. We apologize we were not able to collect from those who called from distant locations yet. We are based in Florida and currently do not have anyone in place who can collect the supplies due to shipping cost and travel limitations but, we are in the process of working out these logistics so that we can collect from other states. Right now, we are limited to Georgia and Florida.
We can be contacted via phone: 352-215-5784;
Thanks again to all of you!
Linda

Hello! I see this was posted a while back, however, I was wondering if you’re still accepting donations? I have a ton of Peritoneal Dialysis 2.5 & 1.5 solution
Cartilages and mini caps. I am located in Orlando. Please reach out to me if you’re able to take them.
Keishlav423 (@) gmail com

Hello to all, we thank you again for the calls we have received and supplies donated thus far. Unfortunately, there are some locations to far to get to from our central Florida location without assistance from volunteers in those areas.

However, we, Lucas Nana Action health continues to pick up unneeded supplies from many areas so, please give us a call at 352-215-5784 and we will let you know if we can pick up in your area.

Thank you, again

Linda Lucas Nana