Supporting Animal Welfare

Surgical Instruments and materials

Virtually all surgical materials have an expiry or use by date which prohibits their use on Human patients once this date has been reached. However for animal welfare scenarios they can still be useful with certain provisos.

There are many variables but provided the surgical materials have been stored in optimum conditions there is no reason that they cannot be utilised in an animal welfare setting overseas. Suture materials such as Vicryl, Mersilk, Ethilon and nylon do not suddenly become contaminated or un-usable one minute past the expiry date. They usually come in reels on sterile cassettes or in single use packs with swaged on needles and provided they have not been opened or contaminated many charities are grateful to have them for Outreach or Trap Neuter and Release programs.

Similarly “single use” instruments are often serviceable and able to be sterilised and reused multiple times in certain settings. Many overseas human charities accept donated expired surgical supplies and equipment which allows them to provide vital services with minimal cost.

If you are a facility with expired surgical materials, unwanted equipment or regularly use single use instruments and want to know how you can donate them to overseas animal charities get in touch.  You will obviously need to process and sterilise them before donating them and provide a letter confirming decontamination from you sterile services department and/or a letter of disposal/release  from your organisation but I’m happy to talk you through the process. Similarly if you are a charity that is in dire need of certain materials please get in touch. Unfortunately I cannot assist with medication.

Please check out my blog here for latest info.

glyn@gaws.co.uk