Recycling Pacemakers

[cecil39]

I saw on the news a few days ago that some bright spark has come up with the idea of recycling pacemakers that have been removed from people after death, why has this not always been done, they cost £2.000 each, when I had a heart monitor fitted recently I was told that it also cost £2.000 and remained the property of the hospital, and should be returned. they showed a great box of the pacemakers to be sent to "poorer countries" why cant they be recycled here? the hospitals are always complaining that they are suffering from cutbacks, surely £2.000 worth of equipment being returned now and again would be a help.

[cecil39]

Sorry, this should have gone in "news" don't know how that happened.

[sandyRoe]

Maybe a recycled pacemaker isn't considered acceptable in the UK. Better it goes to help someone in the Third World than onto a scrapheap.

[RATTER15]

Its the same with medication that is not even opened, often thousands of pounds worth of unopened medication is returned to chemists after someone dies but because it has been dispensed it has to be destroyed. unopened packs of incontinence pads etc, still in original packaging no longer required is all destroyed.

Madness!!

[johnny37]

You would still have to get the next of kins permission to retrieve it, like a real heart.

[Hymie]

I also saw that news report. They said that only those pacemakers with at least 70% charge remaining in the battery were deemed acceptable for reuse.

The cost of fitting in the UK must be significant, such that it would not be cost effective to have to replace due to an exhausted battery.
Whereas in the third world, the cost of the device means only the very rich can afford them, with fitting being relatively cheap compared to the western world.

[cecil39]

thanks for all your replies, I must say I only looked at from the cost angle not in a more personal way, although I don't think I would object to a "second hand" pacemaker keeping me alive.