Recycling unused medical supplies: a surgeon's response.

In Third World countries, there is a desperate need for basic medical supplies. Surgeons are responsible for a significant amount of medical waste in operating rooms, and much of that waste comes from partially used prepackaged sterile operative sets. In October 1992, InterVol established a regional pilot program in Rochester, N.Y., to test the feasibility of collecting unused medical supplies from area health-care facilities and shipping them to countries that need them. This project was designed to help hospitals dispose of reusable medical supplies while providing direct support to Third World hospitals and to medical teams that volunteer in Third World countries. In the process, a data base was created, which could be analyzed to find new ways of limiting unused materials that needed to be discarded. This project operated in four phases: (1) setup and education, (2) collection, (3) sorting and inventory, and (4) distribution. The program was proved to be effective and may serve as a model to help other communities establish similar programs.