Where Can I Donate Medical Supplies?

Each year, millions of dollars of unused medical supplies are thrown away as expensive and contaminated trash. At the same time, a huge disparity exists. Many people go without critical supplies and equipment because of financial circumstances, high costs, and lack of health coverage.

Used or leftover medical supplies and equipment can be a tricky thing to find a home for. They are not the kind of thing you can just bring to any donation center, medical facility, or nonprofit. Sometimes, they require special handling or disposal. However, they are often much needed and valued supplies so taking a moment to determine if they can be donated and to find the right home for them is absolutely worthwhile.

We compiled a list of resources to save you time searching across the web and digging through information about what and where you can donate medical supplies and equipment. 

What Medical Supplies & Equipment Can I Donate?

​There is a broad range of medical supplies, everything from gauze and bandages, to wheelchairs and supportive and adaptive equipment. You may choose to donate and it's important to know that different organizations may request a very specific or very broad array of items. 

Some items that may be donated are:

• Durable medical equipment 
• Mobility aids like wheelchairs, crutches, scooters, walkers, canes
• Supportive and adaptive equipment
• Home health aids like blood pressure cuffs
• Consumable supplies like gauze, bandages, dressings, and tape'
• Protective gear like scrubs, caps, gowns, face masks, face shields, and gloves 
• Orthopedic boots, braces, shoes, slings and splints
• Nursing aids like pads, stockings, diapers

You should always double check the condition, packaging seals, age and expiration for anything that you want to donate. Most organizations cannot accept expired, damaged, or opened items, but there are exceptions. Bottom line: Always check first and don't donate it if it isn't requested.
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General Guidelines for Donating

1. If you are donating equipment, make sure items are clean before donation. Clean means clean enough for a picky friend to use. 
2. Equipment and anything mechanical should be in good working order and not require any repair. Some organizations may allow items with minor repair, but not usually. Always check first.
3. Supplies should be unopened and unexpired, as a rule. However, if organizations work with medical professionals in training, they may be used for that purpose, but only if they expressly request those items. ​
4. Medications cannot widely be donated. However, you can look into state prescription repository programs. SIRUM is an organization specializing in assisting with drug donations and national drug donation laws where you can mail-in donations of prescriptions if it is sealed/unopened, 5+ months from expiration, non-refrigerated, and non-controlled.

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Medical Supplies You Should Not Donate

​Some medical supplies should not be donated because of the risk of injury or contamination. These require special care in disposal which may vary from city to city and state to state.
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'Sharps': Needles and Syringes: 
These should never be thrown directly into the trash and are often required to be disposed of at hazardous waste or other special collection sites. They should always be placed in a rigid plastic container (like a laundry detergent bottle) with a lid. You can check with your trash hauler, city, or county.  Safe Needle Disposal has information for each state. 

Medications:
Prescription medications cannot generally be donated if they are opened, expired or close to expiring, or controlled (i.e. opioids, etc). They require special disposal, as well. They should not be thrown directly into the trash and are often required to be disposed of at hazardous waste or other special collection sites. Check with your local board of pharmacy for proper disposal.

Contaminated supplies:
Any supplies that have been contaminated and cannot be completely disinfected should not be donated. Proper cleaning and disinfecting may vary depending on the type of equipment or item, so always check before donating how the item should be cleaned.

​Where Can I Donate Medical Supplies?
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​Searches and Lists

Lots of people have questions about donating specific medical supplies. There is such a wide variety of things that fall into this category and might be left over from an illness, a loved one, an accident, or even things that were never used, and might have been the wrong item or size. Here are some resources that will help you find exactly the right home for your donation.

Donate Good Stuff 
DonateGoodStuff.org is the best overall all-in-one resource for finding an organization near you that accepts medical supplies and equipment. The interactive search will show you a complete list of organizations, with the nearest to you first, and showing you exactly what they need and how to get it to them.

• Interactive search by locations that are closest to you
• Find donation items, location, hours, and if pick up is available
• Includes smaller organizations you may not find in other lists
• Mail-in donations are included.

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Med-Eq 
Med-Eq is a website that allows individuals to post medical equipment and supplies they are interested in donating. It's kind of like a Craig's List for medical donations. They specialize in pairing donors with vetted charities, most of which will use these supplies overseas. Items may range from bandages and catheter supplies, to hospital beds or surplus inventory and might be small enough to donate by mail, or require a container truck pick-up. 

• About 30% of items are matched with organizations in need
• You post items on their website 
• If a match is made, you'll get contact info to make arrangements
• Non-profit, and some for-profit 
• Mostly international

The American College of Surgeons
This organization shares a list of organizations across the US. It is a fairly lengthy list of nonprofits. Some of these are organizations that ask you to fill out a contact form, list your item/s on an exchange, or may not have one specific drop off address.Although it is affiliated with a Surgical organization, it does not list medical facilities.

• Alphabetical list with organization name, description, and links
• Click on each organization's link for location and donation details.​
• List of over 30 nonprofits across the US
• Some accept individual donations
• Some accept only from manufacturers or medical providers

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Hospitals and Clinics

​You can check with your local clinics, hospitals and care centers. Depending on the specialty, different types of supplies or durable medical equipment may be accepted. Always call first and check. It may take some searching to get in contact with the right person, but can be worth it in the end.

One example of a health center that accepts donations is Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Minneapolis. They accept things like:

• Walkers, including four-wheel folding walker with seat
• Manual wheelchairs
• Power wheelchair with good batteries
• Shower chairs ("like new" condition only) 
• Commodes ("like new" condition only) 
• Canes

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Other Donation Options

Beyond the obvious medical facilities and nonprofits, there are many other places in your community that may need medical supplies and equipment for a loan closet for medical equipment. The most common items accepted are supportive devices like walkers, canes, crutches, non-motorized wheelchairs, as well as adaptive equipment like shower benches or chairs, and commodes. You might have luck doing a search for 'medical equipment loan closet'. 

Here are possible places to check:

• Elder care facilities and nursing homes
• Places of worship
• Shelters
• Your local fire and police department
• Community centers
• Childcare centers
• Schools, colleges and universities

You can also reach out directly to neighbors who may be in need through  social  media platforms like

• Freecycle
• Nextdoor
• Facebook Marketplace
• Craigslist
• LetGo​

Finally, if you are donating in response to a national disaster, fire, or epidemic, you can check in with your local department of public health to see if they are currently accepting medical supplies. 

Nonprofit List

​Although there are lists and searches above, you can also check out our list of additional links below. The list includes organizations that accept donations around the US, others may be in a local area. Some of these may accept donations from individuals while others may only accept them from manufacturers or hospitals.

The process may be different for each. Some ask you to fill out a form, and then the information can be searched by partners until there is a match. Some may have warehouses or storage where you can drop off. Others may arrange for pick up from you. Be sure to read through the donation guidelines carefully.

UCP SeguinThe Kids Equipment Network
ALS Association of Greater Chicago
Advocates for World Health
Afya Foundation
American Medical Resources Foundation
AmeriCares
Brother's Brother Foundation (BBF)
Catholic Medical Mission Board
Central American Medical Outreach (CAMO)
CrossLink Memphis
Crutches 4 Kids 
Devices for the Disabled 
Direct Relief
Esperança
Global Links
Globus Relief
Healing Hands International
Heart to Heart International
Helping World Wide
HERO, Healthcare Equipment Recycling Organization
International Aid
International Medical Equipment Collaborative (IMEC)
InterVol, Recycling of Unused Medical Supplies (RUMS)
Jackson Medical Equipment
MAP International
Medical Bridges Inc.
MediSend International
MedShare
MedWish International
Muscular Dystrophy Association
Pan American Development Foundation
Project C.U.R.E.
Scanlan International
St. Louis Health Equipment Lending Program (St. Louis HELP)
The Kids Equipment Network
UCP Seguin​
​World Medical Relief

What to do with Broken Equipment

A few of the organizations above can take repairable equipment, depending on what it is and what kind of repair is needed. For items that are too damaged or there is no donation option, you can still dispose of them in a way that preserves as much as possible through recycling.

​Medical Equipment:  Items that are primarily metal can be recycled at a scrap metal recycling facility. Motorized equipment should have batteries removed first to be disposed of at a hazardous waste facility. As a last resort, you can contact a junk removal company if you are unable to donate items. It is usually in their best interest to recycle as much as they can.

Are Donations Tax Deductible?

Get a receipt
If you are making donations of medical supplies to a qualified nonprofit 501c3, it may qualify toward a tax deduction. You should request a receipt from the organization for your records. If you are mailing in donations, you can request a receipt be mailed back or sent electronically.

Fair Market Value
If you are wondering about the the amount to use, you can take the fair market value of the items. For tax purposes, the IRS has guidelines around how much to take. These can change from time to time so always check with the current IRS guidelines.

Author: Jennifer Victor-Larsen

Jennifer is the founder and Executive Director of Donate Good Stuff

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Donate Good Stuff exists to help you find the best home for your donation items and we recognize it's just part of the challenge of having too much stuff. How do you declutter what you have, reduce the amount of stuff you bring into your home, and continue to move toward sustainable and environmentally kind living? We can help with that, too. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or subscribe to our newsletter for regular tips and creative ideas for managing your stuff, reducing waste, sustainable living, and being part of a connected community.
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