I was at the Amputees Together meeting in Pinellas the other night talking with other amputees about what to do with our old prosthetics. Of course there were the usual ideas like making lamps, coffee tables, and beer steins out of them. If there is one thing that I can say about a lot of the amputees I have met, it is that most of them have a great sense of humor. But after all of the great ideas that we discussed, most of us agreed that they would be of great benefit to someone who does not have a prosthetic to use for the basic needs in life. 

Most of us had no idea how to give our used prosthetics to someone who may need them. In the U.S., it is against the law to give a prosthetic to another amputee for them to wear. However, it is not against the law to donate the limb to a charity for them to disassemble it and use its components to make other prosthetics in another country.

David Puckett, CPO, who works with PIPO Missions Inc., was a CNN hero in 2008 for his work. Mr. Puckett takes donated limbs from the U.S.and travels to Mexicoto help amputees who may not otherwise be able to have a prosthetic.

 This is a list of some organizations who are involved in this type of work.

PIPO Missions Inc.

http://www.pipoinc.com/mexico.htm

Ability Prosthetics & Orthotics  

http://www.abilitypo.com

Angels with Limbs                    

http://www.angelswithlimbs.org

Barr Foundation                       

http://www.oandp.com/resources/organizations/barr

Bowman Siciliano Limb Bank Foundation   http://www.danabowman.com/danabowman122006_032.htm

The International Foundation for the Physically Disabled  

http://www.theifpd.org

Limbs for Life Foundation

http://www.limbsforlife.org

Limbs of Hope Foundation

http://www.limbsofhope.org/resources.html

Limbs of Love

http://www.limbsoflove.com/

MichiganSociety to Advance Rehabilitation, Inc. (M-Star)

http://m-star.org/donations.htm

Physicians for Peace

http://www.physiciansforpeace.org/site/PageServer?pagename=donations

The Prosthetic and Orthotic Component Clearinghouse

http://usispo.org/pocc/

Volunteers for Inter-American Development Assistance (VIDA)

http://www.vidausa.org