My doctor recently changed one my diabetes medications. I still had a decent supply of my old medications that I was not keen to dispose of, as I know how costly they can be to purchase.
I did a little research and found there are local as well as nationwide places excess medications can be mailed to. Never dispose of excess diabetes medications and supplies, as this can be a literal lifesaver for someone who cannot afford them. Please read below for a list of places to donate your excess diabetes medications and supplies to.
Donate Diabetes Supplies – How To + Top Options
BY Stephanie Toomey | March 1st, 2021 | No Comments
Stephanie ToomeyStephanie thrives on getting to know someone to understand what makes them tick, so it’s no surprise that she has spent her entire career in retail and marketing – putting the customer first. While at work, you’ll often hear her telling ..
Looking to make a switch to a new glucose meter, but you still have months and months of strips and cartridges to get through and want to make sure they get used?
First off, good for you for not wanting to be wasteful! Diabetes supplies are tough to come by—which we’ll get to later—and we should all do what we can to ensure no strip, pens, or cartridges are wasted.
The good news is that it’s incredibly easy to donate those old supplies, allowing you to enjoy your new glucose meter without worrying about wasting unused diabetes supplies.
Today we’ll break down the steps to take to donate your unused supplies to ensure they get in the right hands. But first, let’s talk about the current state of diabetes supplies and medication.
Table of Contents
- Why Diabetes Supplies Can Be Hard to Come By
- Donating Diabetes Supplies
- Looking to Upgrade Your Glucose Meter? Choose Pops’ Rebel + Mina!
Why Diabetes Supplies Can Be Hard to Come By
We are in an unfortunate period of time where the access and affordability of diabetes supplies are severely restricted. In a perfect world, everyone would be entitled to cost-effective insulin and other medication or supplies they need to manage their diabetes. While some steps have been made to combat this high cost of entry into diabetes supplies, we still have a long way to go.
Here are some of the most common barriers of entry that can make it near impossible for people to get their diabetes supplies:
- The extremely high cost of insulin and blood glucose test strips
- Lack of education on proper diabetes management
- No home refrigeration (to keep insulin at the proper temperature)
- Insufficient resources for diabetes care
Because of these high entry barriers, lower-income individuals and families may not ever receive the important supplies they need to take care of themselves or a loved one.
That’s where donating unused supplies comes into play. You can donate unused, unopened diabetes supplies to many fantastic organizations looking to get insulin vials, pens, cartridges, and more to those that need them.
Let’s talk about how to donate diabetes supplies to ensure you don’t waste anything.
Donating Diabetes Supplies
Gathering Your Supplies
Step one of donating your diabetes supplies is finding all of your unused supplies. It’s essential that the supplies have not been opened or expired. Otherwise, the organization will not accept them.
Diabetes supplies that will typically be accepted (though each donation organization has its own criteria) include:
- Lancing devices
- Glucose strips
- Glucose meters
- Glucagon
- Pen needles
- Lancets
- Syringes
- A1c test kits
- Insulin cartridges
- Insulin pens
- Insulin vials
Gather all those leftover supplies you have and double-check to ensure it’s not expired and/or opened.
Finding the Right Organization to Donate to
There are some great organizations out there that are ready to accept your unused diabetes supplies and get them to someone who needs them.
Here are several of our favorites:
Integrated Diabetes Services – IDS will collect just about any type of diabetes equipment (except for lancets). They’ll take your old supplies and give them to people with diabetes in the US and worldwide.
How to donate: Simply call 1-877-735-3648.
Insulin for Life – IFL is a well-known nonprofit specializing in collecting diabetes supplies and distributing them around the world to those who do not have access to the treatments that need to control their diabetes. They accept all of the supplies we listed earlier.
How to donate: Head over to their donate page, where you can download and print a shipping label so you can mail your supplies. To ensure that you pack and ship your supplies safely, head to their shipping guide here.
SafeNetRX – Unlike other organizations on this list, SafeNetRX focuses its attention on a single location instead—Iowa. As this American Diabetes Association report notes, Iowa is struggling with diabetes management. SafeNetRX distributions supplies to Iowans that are at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, as well as uninsured or under-insured individuals.
How to donate: call 1-866-282-5817.
CR3 Diabetes Association – CR3 is a little more particular on what they’ll accept for devices and supplies. They are currently accepting: Medtronic insulin pumps, 630G, 670G, and 530g (551 & 751 only).
How to donate: Head over to their donating and mailing page here
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