Restoring Hope and Mobility to Millions
In a world where medicine and technology are constantly advancing, it’s often easy to overlook what you currently have and move onto the next big thing. Despite the desperate need for prosthetic care across the world, hundreds of thousands of limbs are being discarded annually in the U.S., most of them still completely functional. That’s why Penta Medical Recycling is on a mission to provide life-changing prosthetic care to amputees in low- and middle-income countries by repurposing surplus prosthetics and redistributing them to those in need.
Penta initially started as a student-led project at Yale and Brown Universities back in 2016. Some of the founders had grown up in Southeast Asia and seen the disparities and barriers to prosthetic care in their countries, while others had volunteered with military veterans and witnessed how life-changing receiving a prosthetic could be. After doing research, they discovered that prosthetic care is actually out of reach for 90% of the world’s 100 million amputees, and thus Penta Medical Recycling was born. What started as a group of students transporting prosthetics through suitcases, the nonprofit has now grown into an organization that has distributed over ten thousand prosthetic components to 29 countries.
Volunteers Making a Global Impact
Penta understands that each person’s journey with limb difference is unique, and their approach reflects this understanding.
Providing quality prosthetics is essential to Penta’s mission. They ensure this through a three-step process to verify the quality of the prostheses being shipped. Penta’s Director of Operations, Mija Strong, explains, “We first check with the individual or clinic and ask, ‘Is this a piece you would wear yourself or use for a patient?’ If the answer is yes, please donate! We then examine the quality of the pieces in our warehouse before shipping them to our partners. Finally, we check in with our partners to ensure they are satisfied and able to use the pieces.” Penta understands that each person’s journey with limb difference is unique, and their approach reflects this understanding.
Two core aspects of Penta’s business model are sustainability and collaboration. “We empower the clinics in our network to let us know what they need, when they need it, and we send them only what they need based off our existing inventory,” says Anna Szczepanek, Executive Director at Penta Medical Recycling. This ensures that resources are allocated efficiently in order to reduce medical waste and that clinics receive exactly what they need to serve their patients.
The Penta team draws inspiration from knowing their work transforms lives. “What motivates me the most is hearing directly from our clinic partners about how transformative our donations are,” says Szczepanek. “When we learn about the positive impact our equipment has—enhancing physical, economic, and social mobility—it’s a powerful reminder of why our work is so important. ”Penta’s work goes beyond providing someone with a prosthetic; they become a source of empowerment for individuals who have lost limbs.
If you are interested in helping Penta grow its mission, they encourage you to visit their website, share their mission on social media, volunteer at their warehouse in Westchester, NY, donate, or host a fundraising event. Additionally, if you or someone you know has prosthetic equipment that is no longer needed, consider donating it to Penta!
To learn more about Penta Medical Recycling and to get involved visit, www.pentaprosthetics.org.