2019 pacemaker donation

words: Balasundaram Lavan, Founder of Pace4Life

In 2019, Pace4Life looks to build on the support of SAIF and wider supporters by building on its donations of pacemakers with another mission to Ghana currently being scheduled.

The funding of this and future trips has been made possible through the kind work SAIF supporters have all made to date in donating pacemakers previously held in your possession, as you moved to implementing Pace4Life’s Pacemaker Consent Forms as part of your day to day process.

Hundreds of supporters have enrolled in Pace4Life’s programme to date but new members and participants are welcome as your ongoing support is vital.

As such Pace4Life is extending its amnesty and will welcome any backlog of pacemakers or ICDS (implantable defibrillators) you have in your possession that do not have any patient consent or donation forms throughout 2019.

Please kindly note, however, that we only accept pacemakers and ICDS. We have over the course of our amnesty received many devices, however, alongside these we have found a number of things that we do not accept. This includes glasses, syringes, batteries, remote controls, hearing aids, insulin pumps, nails, scalpels, needles, keys and even a sink plug. Many of these items either belong in clinical waste or should be donated to other causes, for example, spectacles to your local optician for reuse in the developing world.

Pace4Life thanks you for your support to date, it has made our goal a reality. The ongoing donation of pacemakers has helped create a stockpile of pacemakers for reuse while the damaged and expired pacemakers continue to be recycled for the precious metals (up to £1 per unit), which provide vital funds to Pace4Life for the future.

Pace4Life looks forward to a prosperous 2019 and your ongoing support.

If you have any questions, feel free to email or to learn more please visit Pace4Life.org to find out the latest developments as and when they happen.

A note from SAIF

SAIF is delighted to work with Pace4Life. To find out more about the work of Pace4Life and the recycling of pacemakers, visit the SAIF members’ page.

As a funeral director, how can you help?

1. Gain consent from the family. Use the Pacemaker Donation Form on the SAIF website.

2. Follow the Pacemaker Recovery Instructions

3. Make a note of the deceased’s name and pacemaker registration number (printed on the pacemaker)

4. Pack the pacemakers and donation forms in a cardboard carton, or large padded envelope with sufficient cushioning, and send to: Pace4Life, c/o Anstey & District Funeral Services, Talbott House, Leicester Rd, Anstey Leicester LE7 7AT.

5. Email John Kersley at Advance Sales UK on with the heading ‘Pacemaker Collection Please’

Packages up to 10kg in weight are £10, plus fuel surcharge at 10% and VAT, giving a total cost of £13.20 anywhere within the UK.

Visit SAIF for more information on Pace4Life and the process of reusing pacemakers and how you can help.

Tags: , , , ,