Recycling Pacemakers

[cecil39]

I saw a news item about this, to recycle pacemakers from those that have died and send them to "poorer countries" with the NHS always trying to make cutbacks due to a shortage of money why have these valuable things not been recycled before, in this country? if they cost £2.000 each, when I had a heart monitor fitted recently I was told that it also cost £2.000 and that the hospital was very short of them, so surely if pacemakers were also returned it would make a difference.

[Old_Geezer]

I can only guess that the NHS does not wish to use non new items on its patients, but to avoid waste is prepared to be charitable and donate them to countries which are too poor to be able to offer them to their citizens otherwise ? I don't know what the total annual bill is for them but I suspect a drop in the NHS budget ocean.

[jake-the-peg]

It would take a change in the law to allow that and I think a lot of people would not feel happy with a 'second hand' pacemaker.

Add that to the fact the there are refurbishing costs and I don't it would make a difference at all in a budget of 100 billion quid

[youngmafbog]

Technology advances. It is most likley that the pacemaker from someone who has died will no longer be current, but could of course still be of benefit to someone who has access to nothing.

In addition, if they reused one and someone died then the ambulance chasing lawyer scum would soon be all over them like a rash.

[tamborine]

They are recycled to the local metal scrapyard as are gold teeth, platinum hips & limbs from the local crem.

[whiskeryron]

I suppose it makes sense tambo but it sounds a bit Nazi-ish to me.

WR.

[tamborine]

perks of the crem job, whiskyron

[sherrardk]

And you would have to factor in the cost of 'collecting' them. Himself recently had a gadget inserted in his brain (the gadget alone cost £15,000) but I wouldn't consent to them recycling it.

[tamborine]

Its delivered to cut costs of collection.....guess what in ?

[Zeuhl]

I was told in 2011 that I couldn't have any of the plates or metalwork they were removing from my leg (as souvenirs) because in this post-HIV world anything that's been inside someone has to be incinerated.

On the contrary, a friend of my daughter who has severe scoliosis says the precious metals inserted throughout her torso are so incredibly valuable they will be reclaimed when she dies - though i suppose they will still be incinerated; as in melted down.

Either way, pacemakers can't be melted down

so perhaps they can't reissue them to people in the UK because of high levels of safety precautions

[youngmafbog]

//I was told in 2011 that I couldn't have any of the plates or metalwork they were removing from my leg (as souvenirs) because in this post-HIV world anything that's been inside someone has to be incinerated//


Hospitals must have some mega furnaces then !! (Melting point of Titanium is approx 2000K )

[tamborine]

metal from hospitals is recycled as my earlier post, that is sold onto smelters. Hospitals dont have furnaces (environment issues) Councils have the furnaces.

After 40+y living here Ive just discovered the smoke I thought was from a factory chimney has turned out to be the local crem :(