Diabetes supplies pile up fast: a changed prescription, a switch to a pump or CGM, or a family member's passing can leave drawers of sealed test strips and pen needles that cost real money and that someone uninsured desperately needs. Legitimate charities redistribute them, with strict rules: sealed, unexpired, and, for insulin itself, a legal gray zone this guide addresses honestly rather than skipping.
Insulin for Life collects donated diabetes supplies in the US and redistributes them where they are needed, including disaster response and clinics worldwide. It accepts sealed test strips of all brands with at least three months to expiration, along with other sealed supplies. Donations ship by mail; check iflusa.org for the current accepted list and mailing details before sending.
The Diabetes Foundation runs a supply donation program accepting sealed, in-date supplies (test strips with at least about 90 days to expiry), and regional groups like local diabetes charities do the same in many metros. These programs get supplies directly to uninsured and underinsured neighbors, often with shorter shipping distances than international programs.
Integrated Diabetes Services collects a wide range of diabetes equipment and supplies, including pump supplies and CGM gear, and distributes them by request to people with diabetes. Contact them at [email protected] or 877-735-3648 to confirm what they currently need before shipping.
Free clinics, community health centers, and diabetes support groups often quietly maintain supply closets for patients who ration testing because strips cost too much. A call to a local free clinic can place your sealed supplies the same week, with no shipping. This local route is underused and often fastest.
Last updated June 2026. Errors: [email protected]
Insulin is the supply people most want to pass on and the one with the most rules around it. It is a prescription drug, it requires cold-chain storage, and giving it directly to another person is legally murky in most states, well-meaning handoffs happen constantly in diabetes communities, but a charity cannot advise it and neither can this guide. The legitimate path: unopened, unexpired, properly refrigerated insulin donated through programs set up to handle it, on their current terms. If your insulin is opened or expired, dispose of it through a pharmacy take-back rather than donating or trashing it.
The checklist by item: test strips, sealed, 90 days or more to expiry, any brand. Lancets and pen needles, sealed boxes only, never loose. Syringes, sealed and unexpired; many programs accept them, some local ones cannot. Insulin pens, unopened and unexpired with cold chain intact. CGM sensors and pump supplies, sealed, in-date, and unattached to a started prescription. Meters, working, with case; these are abundant, so strips matter more. Anything opened fails everywhere; anything expired fails everywhere.
Test strips can cost a dollar or more each retail, and people without coverage ration them, testing once a day or less when safe management needs more. The gray market that buys and resells unused strips exists precisely because of that gap. Donating sealed surplus to a charity or free clinic serves the same population at zero cost to them, which is why diabetes educators push donation over resale: the supplies land where the need is, not where the margin is.
When someone with diabetes passes, families often face a cabinet of costly supplies. The sort is quick: sealed and in-date goes to a program above; opened, expired, or used goes to pharmacy take-back or sharps disposal, never donation bins. Meters and unused pumps can join the donation if programs accept them. Handled this way, an estate's supplies can fund months of safe testing for several people, a quiet but real legacy, alongside mobility equipment and hearing aids from the same estate.