How to Donate Factor

I get asked this a lot: How best can I donate factor to you?  

I’ve been donating factor to developing countries since 1996, so I have a pretty good idea of the best ways to do this, from a charity point of view. Each year I ship out millions of IUS of factor, donated to us from patients, hospitals, specialty pharmacies and occasionally some hemophilia nonprofits. It comes in many ways: as vials in bubble wrap; as vials wrapped in newsprint; in coolers; with ice packs; in envelopes, boxes and occasionally bags—when someone actually braves our long driveway and brings it to my doorstep.

I appreciate every single vial and each IU. We save lives together. But…

There is a good way to donate, meaning efficient. It would help my efforts if everyone could help out and ship it in an efficient way. One, to better the environment, and two, to expedite my efforts to inventory and then ship out the factor to those in need.

So here are some tips!

1. Contact me in advance in case you have any questions about your shipment.
2. Do not send anything prior to 2020.
3. Do not send us factor that is in-date and intended for you or your child to use. You must have a valid reason (switched product, failure of product to work…) to send in-date. And in-date goes to Save One Life, not to me.
4. Do not use coolers or ice packs. This adds to expense, bulk, leads to wet boxes, and is very bad for the environment. I try to recycle and give away the coolers and ice packs, but it takes up a lot of time and is not always successful.
5. Remove the vial of factor from its box. I only need the vial of factor. (Why? Because most people in developing countries can easily obtain sterile, medical grade water from a local pharmacy. They also can get all the ancillaries they need. These are cheap overseas. I don’t ship them because they are bulky and super-expense to ship relative to their worth.)
6. Repeat: I only need the vial of factor.
7. No sterile water, no needles, no filter devices, no gauze, no alcohol swabs. What to do with them? I know you also want to repurpose good items, so please donate them to a local animal shelter or veterinarian’s office.
8. Package it carefully. Big vials, like those for Recombinate, von Vendi, Alphanate, and Humate-P can shatter. Use bubblewrap, paper towels or even packaging paper. (I recycle everything!)
9. Advate cannot be removed from the plastic tube. You can send as is.
10. Do not remove the sticky labels from the Advate tube! I need those for the vials of factor (I do remove them from the tube).
11. Place the vials of factor in a protected cardboard box or padded envelope. Ship to me at 21 Sawmill Way, Georgetown MA 01833.
12. Regular mail via the USPS is fine. I am all about saving money so no need to ship FedEx if you don’t want to. We do ship FedEx to other countries.
13. Please do not request a signature! I live in a very secure place, and the mail carriers and FedEx people know us well. It’s safe!

That’s it! Watch this video for a quickie demo, and read the lovely thank you we received today from a young man in the Philippines…

“I cannot thank you enough for all the help. I have been sleepless for two weeks now enduring the pain. My mom and I pray for God’s help and guidance to let me through this toughest challenge of my life now. I am starting to give up, and here you are. Thank you and to the donors of this heaven’s gift. I cannot express how much this means to me.”

Thank you to all our compassionate donors! Happy holidays!