iPump, Inc.

Posts Tagged ‘insulin pumps’

Children who take shots to manage their diabetes must eat, exercise, and sleep, according to their shot schedule.  They live a very regimented life, painful life of multiple injects every day. For kids who take shots, their lifestyle must be adapted to insulin injections.

But children who can use an insulin pump (or an OmniPod) can get more of their “old”  life back.  They can eat, play, and sleep more spontaneously. They no longer have to take a small cooler for insulin pens or vials.  They can give themselves insulin discretely in public places helping them to feel more like other children and making it easier to go to movies, camps, school, and restaurants.

But there are a few drawbacks: they must wear a medical device 24/7 with a needle inserted into their bodies. Bath time (and pool time) often has to be centralized around cannula site changes. And kids must still count their carbs and take insulin to live.

Still, for children like Caleb, an OmniPod is much better than shots!

In addition to kids who want pumps, iPump has helped two children who wanted an OmniPod instead of a pump (maybe because Nick Jonas wears one!)

Your cash donations can help us get more kids off shots …. and on with life!

Legal and Ethical Concerns Over Medtronic’s Business Practices

Medtronic has a court-documented track record of failing to properly notify its customers in a timely fashion of known product defects. Product failure has resulted in deaths, hospitalizations, and both individual and class action lawsuits against the company. Their inexcusable behavior has even prompted new proposed legislation because legal rights for patients who died or were injured by Medtronic products were substantially limited when it came to suing for tort damages.

. ..”Following the 2008 Supreme Court decision Riegel v. Medtronic, (.pdf) patients and families have been prevented from having the right to file a viable Medtronics lawsuit to help cover medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering based on FDA preemption.

For more information about Medtronic’s legal battles, see the Medtronic Recall Center.

Why We Are Not Accepting Medtronic Insulin Pump Supplies At This Time

Medtronic has most recently recalled another three million infusion sets from their two top-selling product lines. We have received well-intended donations of supplies that have been recalled and may be defective. In order to ensure the safety of our clients we are no longer accepting Medtronic insulin pump supplies. Unfortunately, we do not have the funds to hire staff – iPump is run by one full-time volunteer and we simply do not have the resources to manually track all Medtronic products at this time. Additionally, Medtronic has not returned our calls or letters about exchanging donated items that were recalled.

Why We Are No Longer Accepting Medtronic Insulin Pumps

Medtronic frequently refers their call-in customers to iPump as a place to donate their used insulin pumps. Instead of allowing Medtronic customers to turn them in for a $500 credit towards a new pump, several people have told us that Medtronic suggests they can donate old pumps to iPump and get a tax deduction for several thousand dollars instead of just a $500 credit as their insurance will pay for the pump anyhow.

This may sound like a nice gesture, but Medtronic is diverting pumps that they know are so old they will not upgrade them so really have no value at all. In simplest terms, Medtronic appears to be using iPump as a medical device dumpster. We have contacted Medtronic multiple time via phone, emails and letters – including to Medtronic’s president and board of directors and have not had the courtesy of a reply.

We hope to have a better, more reciprocal business relationship with Medtronic someday, but until such time, we are no longer accepting any Medtronic MiniMed insulin pumps or insulin pump supplies.

How far have we come since 1986?  View this interesting newstory (complete with 80’s hair and fashion) about the first implantable insulin pump.

Courtesy of tuDiabetes.com

Dear Donors,

As of August 1, 2009, iPump is no longer accepting Cozmo insulin pumps.  Smiths Medical will not repair or recertify these donated pumps so sadly, we are unable to give them away.

Please do NOT send us Cozmo pumps – they now have no value and we will not record them for our IRS records. We will not provide tax receipts for Cozmo pumps sent to us that are postmarked after August 1, 2009.

We can accept Cozmo pump supplies as we are able to give those away and they do have market value.

To all Cozmo pumpers (my daughter used one for two years) I know that this is a frustrating time.  Unfortunately, Smiths Medical was simply not able to sell enough of the Cozmo pumps to compete with Medtronic.

Lahle Wolfe,Founder, CEO

iPump, Inc.

July 11, 2009
The Wall Street Journal
by Jon Kamp

Medtronic Recalls Insulin Devices

The following is an excerpt from one of many articles relating to the recent Medtronic infusion set recall of approximately 3 million sets.

Late last month, the medical-device maker came under fire from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which warned Medtronic about what the agency called a failure to properly report and remedy flaws in the Synchromed drug pump and the MiniMed insulin pump.

In a letter, the FDA said it took Medtronic almost two years to recall Synchromed II pumps after discovering a missing propellant in some versions. The agency also said the company didn’t follow proper reporting procedures involving complaints about the insulin pump.

Read the Full Article