As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases continues to rise, today AdvaMed announced that its members are helping to fight COVID-19 with the donation of about $26.8 million worth of medical products, along with $4.1 million in cash. The contributions were made by 31 AdvaMed member companies to the Red Cross Foundation in China, medical institutions, and hospitals and clinics in Hubei Province.
“We’re doing everything we can to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. For the medtech industry, that means donating key medical technologies, providing on-the-ground medical support, and developing new diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines,” said AdvaMed President and CEO Scott Whitaker in a press release.
In a press release, AdvaMed provided information about some of the medtech companies and their donation efforts, including:
- 3M has increased production of respirators. The company has donated respirators, surgical masks and hand sanitizer to specific areas in China.
- Bayer is making a donation of €1.5 million in medicine and money.
- BD has donated $300,000 worth of products that include catheters, blood collection tubes, syringes and sharps to the Red Cross in Wuhan. The company has also donated $50,000 for to supply frontline healthcare workers with personal protective equipment.
- J&J has donated 1 million surgical masks to China and $1 million RMB to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation. Other donations include thermometers, respirators, goggles and protective suits.
- Medtronic and its foundation has committed $1.5 million to COVID-19 relief efforts worldwide. It has donated ventilators, respiratory filters, pulse oximeters, sensors and centrifugal blood pumps to Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital.
- Qiagen is in the process of sending 200 QIAstat-Dx cartridges for the detection of respiratory pathogens that includes COVID-19 to China. The technology is being validated at four hospitals.
Other medtech companies that have made significant donations include Varian, Roche, ResMed, GE Healthcare, Danaher Corp. and Cepheid.