According to WHO (World Health Organization) over 420 million people are living with diabetes worldwide. When living with diabetes there are multiple different medications and supplies that are needed to survive. The main one being insulin. But, it isn’t as easy as just having an insulin vial and calling it good.

Diabetic Needs

A person also needs access to syringes, needles, test strips, a blood glucose meter , and more to measure their glucose levels. All these tools aren’t cheap either. The average cost of insulin has been increasing in recent years. Some types of insulin have had a nearly $300 increase per each vial. One vial can cost over $500 for a medication that individuals need to survive. E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E!  They aren’t buying designer hand bags or plane tickets or court side basketball tickets, they are simply buying a medication that they need to live. The average person with diabetes spends about 2.3% more each year in medical costs than a person without. For some individuals with diabetes that can total up to an additional $10,000 per year and possibly more for others depending on the amount of insulin they must consume, which varies by height, weight, age, and overall health.

Let’s use a hypothetical situation. If I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of five and the average lifespan of a female in the United States is almost 79 years, that equals 74 years of my life that I need to spend money on diabetic care. $10,000 x 74 years = $740,000 that I must spend in my lifetime to just remain alive. That is not including the cost of other medical care that is needed by everyone regardless if they have diabetes or not. $740,000 is a lot of extra money to spend just to survive.

If you’re reading this, you might not have diabetes so you’re probably thinking “yes, that’s horrible, but it doesn’t affect me personally.” Or “I would really like to help, but I am not sure how I can do that.” Let me fill you in on what Group Medical Supply has been doing (and many others worldwide).

Insulin4Life

travel diabetes bag packed with insulinIn recent years Group Medical Supply has spent countless hours improving and redesigning our ChillMed Diabetic bags. We have taken suggestions from our consumers (maybe that was you?) to change the bags into something more practical and desirable for people with diabetes. Our goal was to make your lives easier—which is only a small win since diabetics have to deal with a lot of stressors each day. However, we have taken pride in our new GMS ChillMed Bags.

 

In the production of our new bag, we now have our old bags sitting in storage. In an effort to reduce environmental waste and support others with diabetes, we have decided to donate. We donated 40 ChillMed bags to Insulin4life just yesterday! They are now being shipped out. *cue small claps and cheering*

Insulin4Life provides insulin and other disease management supplies for FREE to those with diabetes who would otherwise go without these products. They collect unopened, unexpired supplies from individuals or companies and ship them out to those in need. Only after a careful inspection of the supplies. They want to ensure that the products they are giving are of good quality. You can find a list of accepted supplies on their website. If you are unsure if your product would be accepted, send an email to find out!

Donations

If you recently switched diabetic regimens and have extra supplies that you no longer use, but don’t want to throw them away mail them to Insulin4life! We both know they will just collect dust in your bottom drawer anyways. So, why not do something life changing with them? Help a child or adult in need survive with diabetic supplies that are of no use to you anymore. A little donation can make a big difference for someone. Your donation will help those in the United States and globally! And if you need one more little push to donate those supplies, you are able to receive a tax-deductible in accordance with the regulations. By helping others you can also help yourself!

If you don’t want to ship your products down to Florida (where Insulin4Life is located), then look into donation locations in your home state. There are many organizations that would be willing to accept your old supplies that you no longer need.

Linked below are some articles that explain a little more about the price of insulin, what diabetes is, and access to different medications. If you have questions about donating or where to donate please reach out in the comments, social media, or email. I would be more than happy to assist you!

P.S. Remember that “no one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another” -Charles Dickens

Resources:

Alltucker, K. (2019, March 27). Struggling to stay alive: Rising insulin prices cause diabetics to go to extremes. Retrieved May 9, 2019, [Learn more at USAToday]

Cavan, D., Huang, Y., Makaroff, L., & Rocha Fernandes, J. D. (n.d.). Access to Medicines and Supplies for People with Diabetes. Retrieved May 9, 2019, [Learn more at IDF]

Diabetes. (2018, October 30). Retrieved May 9, 2019, [Learn more at WHO]

 

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