Donation of unopened/unused Insulin pens.

[RedLentilz]

Hello,
A while ago, a relative with diabetes passed away and there are quite a lot of unopened boxes of disposable insulin pens (Solostar Lantus Glargine). As a type 1 diabetic myself I don't use these and would hate for it to go to waste. I tried the IDDT charity and i'm afraid they don't accept donations at this moment and I think the pharmacy will just dispose them. Is there anywhere else I could send them off to here in the UK or abroad?

 

[EllieM]

Welcome to the forums @RedLentilz . Looks like there are plenty of ways for people located in the US to donate insulin (says something about the way insulin is funded there?) but a quick google suggests that in the UK they accept testing strips rather than insulin. Given that insulin has to be stored correctly it's going to be difficult to post overseas. Have you tried the same question at the diabetes.org.uk website ?

But I agree, it seems an awful shame to throw it away when there are so many people in the world who are literally dying for lack of it.

 

[woollygal]

I had some trulicity pens (sorry not insulin but they are injections). They had potentially hit back of fridge and got frozen but chemist refused them and said I had to dispose of in my scarps bin.
That may of course just be because they may have been spoiled!
I know here in uk once médication even unopened has left pharmacy they cannot use them again.
They will take them in (not my sharps) to dispose but can’t reuse.
I had forxiga left over once and were unopened and they couldn’t reuse them

 

[Andydragon]

I had some trulicity pens (sorry not insulin but they are injections). They had potentially hit back of fridge and got frozen but chemist refused them and said I had to dispose of in my scarps bin.
That may of course just be because they may have been spoiled!
I know here in uk once médication even unopened has left pharmacy they cannot use them again.
They will take them in (not my sharps) to dispose but can’t reuse.
I had forxiga left over once and were unopened and they couldn’t reuse them

Which unfortunately makes sense as there is no guarantee that it hasn’t been tampered with. UK rules are no reuse at all. Perhaps they can if you refuse at point of pickup, as never actually used at that point, but with rules and red tape it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s not allowable either

When my father passed I took carrier bags full of drugs for disposal. Still not totally sure how he gained so many to be honest. Probably old prescriptions he kept “just in case”, he unfortunately became a bit (lot) of a hoarder towards the end

One issue I had was some pharmacies who deliver for you keep ordering and you end up with excess. I know some drugs are variable dosage so gaining a bit of an excess is possible but generally you shouldn’t have more than a month (28d) of drugs

 

[woollygal]

Which unfortunately makes sense as there is no guarantee that it hasn’t been tampered with. UK rules are no reuse at all. Perhaps they can if you refuse at point of pickup, as never actually used at that point, but with rules and red tape it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s not allowable either

When my father passed I took carrier bags full of drugs for disposal. Still not totally sure how he gained so many to be honest. Probably old prescriptions he kept “just in case”, he unfortunately became a bit (lot) of a hoarder towards the end

One issue I had was some pharmacies who deliver for you keep ordering and you end up with excess. I know some drugs are variable dosage so gaining a bit of an excess is possible but generally you shouldn’t have more than a month (28d) of drugs

I generally have more than a month simply because it’s not always easy to get the meds.
My prescription is for 2 months anyway so I usually end up with 3 months. I order when I have sbout 5 pens left in case it takes me a while to pick them up. They have to be ordered in and I tend to work longer hours then chemists are open.
So overall I have sbout 9-12 weeks of pens.

 

[Andydragon]

I generally have more than a month simply because it’s not always easy to get the meds.
My prescription is for 2 months anyway so I usually end up with 3 months. I order when I have sbout 5 pens left in case it takes me a while to pick them up. They have to be ordered in and I tend to work longer hours then chemists are open.
So overall I have sbout 9-12 weeks of pens.

Yeah that’s true
I was being a little generic in my answer, but absolutely for certain meds a need to have a buffer is necessary.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

but generally you shouldn’t have more than a month (28d) of drugs

Generic I know, but perhaps a reminder to those planning a holiday that you need to make sure you have enough before you go away.

6 weeks into a 2 month supply is not the best time to go on 3 weeks holiday.

 

[chrisbug]

I've also been keeping an eye on the IDDT website, as I have some supplies that I no longer use.
They definitely state on their website that they accept unused, in-date insulin as well as lancet and test strips.
I'll email them to try and get an idea of when they might be accepting donations of insulin, etc.

 

[chrisbug]

Copy of very prompt reply from IDDT (InDependent Diabetes Trust). Received this morning.
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"Hello Chris,

Thank you for getting in touch about your unwanted insulin.

Under normal circumstances we do collect unused, in-date unwanted diabetes items to send to help people in developing countries but I am afraid that due to the pandemic, we have had to stop doing this because the parcels we tried to continue to send simply did not reach their destination. I am afraid that I cannot see this changing in the foreseeable future.

So while we are very grateful for the offer, I am afraid that we are unable to accept your items. If/when we are able to start sending abroad again, we will put it on our website.

Best wishes
Jenny"