Where to Donate Medical Supplies Near Me
If you want to donate unused medical supplies near you in Greater Cleveland, there are a handful of real places that take them — named below, with what each one accepts. Most of what's in a typical box should go to one of them. One category is worth real money instead, and this page tells you which, so you can choose rather than find out afterwards.
Sort the box into three piles
Almost every box that gets cleared out of a closet has all three in it, and sorting first saves a wasted trip — most donation sites cannot take expired or opened items, so an unsorted box gets partly refused at the counter.
- Sealed and unexpired — donatable. Wound care, ostomy and incontinence supplies, catheters, gloves, packaged syringes, nutritional supplements. This is usually the biggest pile.
- Durable equipment — wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, shower chairs, hospital beds. Donatable, but often to a different place than the consumables, and frequently one that keeps it in the neighbourhood.
- Expired, opened, or used sharps — not donatable anywhere. This is a disposal question, and the answer depends on your city.
Where to donate medical supplies in Greater Cleveland
Named places with real phone numbers — call before you drive.
MedWish International (Cleveland)
The main answer for anyone in Greater Cleveland. MedWish is a Cleveland nonprofit that takes unused, unexpired medical supplies and usable equipment and repurposes them for healthcare in developing countries. Call the warehouse to schedule a drop-off. Two things to know before you load the car: they cannot collect from you, so it is drop-off only, and they cannot accept expired supplies.
CuyahogaRecycles — medical equipment & supplies
The county's own guidance on what to do with medical equipment and supplies, published city by city rather than as one countywide rule. Useful when an item is not donatable and you need to know how it is actually meant to be disposed of in your municipality, and useful for the odd categories — hearing aids, CPAP equipment — that have their own routes.
Bikur Cholim of Cleveland
Runs a medical equipment gemach — a free community lending library for specialised equipment like wheelchairs, walkers and hospital beds. If what you are clearing out is durable equipment rather than consumable supplies, this keeps it circulating locally instead of sending it overseas or to landfill.
Ohio's Hospice
Accepts medical supply and equipment donations for patients in its care. Worth a call if your supplies came from home hospice or end-of-life care, since that is the setting they are set up to redistribute into and the items tend to match what they need.
One exception: the part that's worth money
Sealed, unexpired diabetic testing supplies are the one category in a typical box with a cash value attached. CGM sensors — Dexcom, FreeStyle Libre — run to a few hundred dollars for a few boxes. Test strips are worth less per box but still real money. Most people donating them have no idea, because they look like everything else in the pile.
Donate them anyway if you'd rather — MedWish takes them, and plenty of people would rather they went to someone who needs them. That is a fine choice. It just shouldn't be one you made by accident. We publish what we pay by brand so you can see the number before you decide.
We're local — a Cleveland buyer, not a mail-in service. If you'd rather sell them, text a photo of the boxes — the whole box, not just the label — with the expiration dates visible and we'll tell you what they're worth, or tell you they don't qualify and why. Free either way, and there's no obligation.
Medication is a different system
None of the supply donors above can take prescription drugs — medication runs on separate rules, with its own programs and its own exclusions. Ohio law does let individuals donate unexpired medication to participating charitable pharmacies and nonprofit clinics, which is a genuinely good option most people have never heard of. Where to donate unused medication has the named programs. If there are insulin pens in the box, those have their own answer depending on whether they have been used.
Common questions
Where can I donate medical supplies near me?
In Greater Cleveland, MedWish International is the main option — a local nonprofit that takes unused, unexpired supplies and usable equipment and repurposes them. Call their warehouse at (216) 692-1685 to arrange a drop-off; they do not collect. Bikur Cholim runs a free equipment lending library for durable items like wheelchairs and walkers, and Ohio's Hospice accepts supplies for patients in its care. Call ahead in every case — accepted-item lists change.
Where can I donate unused medical supplies near me for free?
Donating costs nothing at any of these — the catch is usually transport rather than money. MedWish cannot pick up, so you deliver to the Cleveland warehouse yourself. If getting there is the obstacle, call first and ask; they can often tell you whether something closer to you takes the category you have. Nobody legitimate charges you to accept a donation of usable supplies.
Where can I donate unused diabetic supplies?
Diabetic supplies go to the same places as everything else on this page — MedWish takes unused, unexpired test strips, CGM sensors, pump supplies and pen needles, and so do most charitable clinics. The general rule for any medical supply is unused, unexpired and still sealed. Wound care, incontinence and ostomy supplies, catheters, gloves, syringes still in their packaging and nutritional supplements all typically qualify too. Durable equipment — wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, shower chairs, hospital beds — is usually accepted separately and often locally. Expired items, opened packages and used sharps are not donatable anywhere.
Should I donate or sell my diabetic supplies?
Either is fine, and plenty of people donate — but decide it knowing the number rather than assuming there isn't one. Sealed, unexpired CGM sensors and test strips are worth real money, often more per box than people expect, and they are the one category in a typical clear-out that has a cash option. If you'd rather they went to someone who needs them, MedWish takes them too. What's worth avoiding is giving away a few hundred dollars without realising it was a choice.
Can you donate unused medications?
Medication is a separate system from supplies, with its own rules. Ohio law lets individuals donate unexpired medication to a participating charitable pharmacy or nonprofit clinic, but the general medical-supply donors above cannot take drugs. Controlled substances are excluded from individual donation with narrow exceptions. We keep the named medication programs on their own page rather than repeating them here.
What do I do with supplies nobody will accept?
Expired or opened items are a disposal question rather than a donation one. Cuyahoga County publishes guidance city by city for medical equipment and supplies, which is the place to check because the answer genuinely differs between municipalities. Used sharps are their own category and belong in a sharps container, never loose in a bin and never in curbside recycling.
General information, not medical or legal advice. Accepted items, drop-off hours and program eligibility change — call ahead to confirm before you make a trip. We have no affiliation with MedWish International, Bikur Cholim of Cleveland, Ohio's Hospice, or any other organization named on this page, and we receive nothing if you donate to them.