Many different health conditions can lead to a doctor prescribing you oxygen therapy. When you start oxygen therapy, you’ll invest in several pieces of equipment to improve your health. When you no longer need your oxygen equipment or decide to upgrade to a newer machine, you may not know what to do with your used equipment or how to dispose of it. Depending on the state of the device and where you bought it, you may be able to take advantage of a buy-back program. If you want to dispose of it, you can contact your trash pickup service for removal. Donating the equipment is a viable option for those who want to help others experiencing similar health conditions. Keep reading to learn how to donate used oxygen concentrators and equipment.
Check Usability
Before donating your oxygen concentrator and related equipment, ensure that your equipment is useable. Local medical supply stores and similar businesses should be able to check your equipment and tell you if it’s functional enough to donate. If it’s not functional enough to donate, you can investigate repair options or call your trash pickup service to learn how you can dispose of it.
Decide Where You Want To Donate
Once you know that your concentrator and equipment are functional enough to donate, you must select where to donate it. This can vary depending on where you live and current events. Some organizations that wouldn’t usually accept donated medical equipment might make exceptions during times of crisis. Check what’s happening locally, nationally, and globally and what organizations are responding to decide where you want to donate your equipment.
Local organizations that take medical equipment donations regardless of crises are facilities like nursing homes, fire stations, and even vet clinics. Call them to ask if they accept medical equipment and how you can best deliver it to them.
Learn Shipping Options
If you’ve found a charity to which you want to donate your equipment, but they don’t have a local branch, then learn about shipping restrictions before taking your equipment to the local UPS Store. Oxygen is flammable and considered dangerous to ship, so you shouldn’t send unused oxygen tanks without professional assistance. Still, you should be able to package and ship other pieces of equipment easily. Contact the charity you want to donate to see if they’ll help cover some of the shipping costs, as some of your equipment could be expensive to ship.
You can donate used oxygen concentrators and equipment by getting them checked for functionality, choosing where to donate, and investigating shipping options. Many local, national, and global charities always accept medical equipment, so you should have plenty of options.
