replies to donating prostheses

replies to donating prostheses

Rick Milen, prosthetic resident

Dear Colleagues:

Thank you for the numerous referrals we received concerning our question
regarding the donation of prostheses. Many asked for the replies to be
posted. A summary of the information is as follows:

* Practitioners make trips to the Dominican Republic and prostheses may be
sent to:
O&P Clinical Technologies
6830 NW 11th Place suite A
Gainesville, FL 32605

* community based rehabilitation projects accept donated prostheses:
michael onsongo-CPO
p.o. box 5187 edloret, kenya, east africa

* Brother to Brother International accepts donated prostheses. Look for them
online or a 1-800 number.

* Limbs for life and Physicians for Peace are planning on a trip back to
Turkey w/ used parts for patients. Contact Steven Goldstein @ 516-481-4995

* My name is  Eddy Leopoldo Fuentes, C.P.O. I work for Shriners Hospitals for
Children-St. Louis. I participate in Orthotics and Prosthetics Clinics in
Central America (Guatemala and Honduras) I will be more than happy to take
the prosthesis down there and use them. Probably we have to discharge the
sockets but we can use everything else. I would pay for the shipping so you
don't have to worry about it.

EDDY LEPOLDO FUENTES, C.P.O.
12653 Sauterne Dr. # A
St. Louis, MO 63146-2508
work phone:  314-872-7891

* The Barr Foundation will gratefully accept for donation of a used
prosthesis. The devices are disassembled and their parts utilized for
prosthetic care missions outside the US. (Used components are not utilized in
the US due to liability concerns and legal issues regarding used medical
equipment.)
You can contact the Barr Foundation at 561-394-6514 or email  Tony Barr at
<Email Address Redacted>

* I think you will find that the donation of materials to third world or
under-resourced countries would be far more useful to those countries than
used limbs.   As you know the limb needs to be made to fit the patient
specifically, so with this in mind donation of components and materials
would be more useful.

Kaisha Gurry
Associate Lecturer
National Centre for Prosthetics & Orthotics
La Trobe University
Australia

*The names of at least 25 churches and/or church groups were sent to me with
individual practitioner contacts (not posting), so your local church may be a
good place to start if you are wanting to donate prostheses.

Thanks again for all the input!
Respectfully,
Rick Milen, PTA, prosthetic resident