Putting a Face on Baxter’s Product Donations

Following the Haiti earthquake in 2010, Baxter donated intravenous solutions and other critical products to aid victims, many of whom were housed in makeshift shelters like this one. (Photo by Alison Wright)

The critical nature of Baxter's products, combined with the company's global presence, position Baxter as a crucial supplier of medicines, medical supplies and other aid following natural disasters or political strife and to advance patient care worldwide.

In 2010, Baxter provided $48.1 million in product donations through donor partners AmeriCares, Direct Relief International and the World Federation of Hemophilia, as well as through the company's U.S. patient assistance programs. Baxter donated products in 84 countries, including $7.7 million worth of antibiotics, intravenous (IV) solutions and other vital products to help those affected by the January 2010 earthquake and subsequent cholera outbreak in central Haiti.

Three-year-old Rose Geurline from Haiti is one patient whose life was saved through Baxter's product donations. When Rose's family brought her to a makeshift clinic for cholera patients, she was semiconscious and without a discernable pulse. The healthcare team administered an IV and within seconds, lactacted ringers solution – one of several hydration products donated by Baxter through its partnership with Direct Relief International – was flowing through the young girl's body. Three hours later, Rose was sitting up and eating crackers, thanks to the healthcare team's quick work and the lifesaving treatment donated by Baxter.

Baxter's factor replacement therapy donations also benefitted a young hemophilia patient in Pakistan during the year. Eighteen-year-old Rizwan Ali was riding a motorbike near his village in the northeastern part of the country when he collided with an ox cart, sustaining three fractures in his left leg and pelvis as well as a blunt injury to his abdomen. When hospital staff couldn't stop the young man's bleeding, an urgent supply of Baxter's Hemofil M – a factor VIII therapy donated by the company through AmeriCares and the Pakistan Hemophilia Patients Welfare Society – was rushed to the hospital and administered to the patient. After five days of treatment his condition stabilized, and a week later Rizwan underwent surgery for the fractures in his left leg. After a month in the hospital the young man was discharged to home and began a rehabilitation program.

While Baxter may not always learn the fate of the patients they have helped through product donation efforts, the company is committed to saving and sustaining lives and supporting public health in times of need, said Curt Welling, President and CEO of AmeriCares.

"AmeriCares has worked closely with Baxter for nearly 25 years, responding to health care needs around the world," Welling said. "They have always been generous with their products and understand the value of providing lifesaving aid to the world's most vulnerable populations."