SHARE
Supporting Hospitals Abroad with Resources and Equipment
Who Are We?
SHARE at the Johns Hopkins Hospital is a volunteer organization of undergraduates, medical students, and healthcare professionals. We retrieve, package, and ship unused but clean operating room supplies to hospitals and clinics in the developing world. In addition to providing international medical relief, SHARE benefits the hospital by reducing its solid medical waste.
Many items from a surgical procedure that have not been used such as gloves, sutures, and gowns are usually discarded. Although these materials may be clean, these items cannot be utilized for a different procedure within the hospital because they are not considered sterile. In addition, legal and regulatory rules prohibit redistributing and reusing supplies. However, the same materials that would be regarded as waste in US operating rooms could be used in developing countries that are in need of such materials.
Donation Spotlight: Mission in Uganda
The following was sent to us by Candace Martin, a recipient of SHARE supplies:
“I received several items that were extremely valuable in my ability to practice safely on the low- and high-risk labor and delivery wards at Mulago National Referral Hospital. I was given numerous sterile gloves, which I used to perform cervical exams, and assist in deliveries, such as cutting the umbilical cord of the newborns.
At Mulago, there are approximately 100 deliveries a day on the high-risk ward and potentially 15+ women can be in active labor simultaneously on the low-risk ward; thus, having an adequate number of gloves was essential. These patients have to bring their own supplies to receive care. Fortunately, I was able to provide the necessary gloves to women whom were without, as well as offer gloves to the nurse midwives to verify my assessments during cervical exams.
Additionally, the face shields were essential to protect myself from a splash (exposure) while being inches away from the birth canal during challenging deliveries, or infectious agents in open, deep wounds in critical patients. These sterile gloves and face shields were critical in ensuring my safety and the safety of my patients in a hospital with a HIV infection rate as high at 10-15% on the ward, according to our faculty advisor.
When I completed my clinical experience, I was able to give my remaining supplies to midwives on the units, including numerous face shields to those who care for very critical patients with HIV/AIDS, sepsis, fecal fistulas, etc.”
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