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The Starfish Project
At the Center for Special Studies, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical CenterWe are doctors, nurses, and social workers who take care of patients with HIV/AIDS at the Center for Special Studies, the AIDS Care Unit of the NewYork Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. We are committed to the care of our patients and those around the world.
Medication ProgramThe Starfish Project collects the unused "leftover" medication from patients in the United States who have stopped or changed their antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. All drugs have patient identification removed before they are sorted, labeled, and shipped to our partner clinics in Nigeria. To date, we have received over 374,000 donated pills, and shipped over 304,000 to partner clinics. We have over a hundred donors who send us medications -- from large hospitals down to a single HIV positive individual. Our goal is to collect as much medication as possible to pass on to patients in Nigeria. Working with two teams of health care providers based at teaching hospitals, the Starfish Project provides free ARV therapy to 70+ patients in Nigeria. The program is the only place in Nigeria where a person can receive highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) free of charge. People diagnosed with HIV come from great distances to receive care and support. It is our firm belief that access to treatment is not only life-saving for individual patients, but also transformational for whole communities. With access to medication, people re-gain hope and transmit a message that HIV is not a death sentence. Such messages are also critical to efforts that promote voluntary testing and preventative behavior change. The impact of the clinical care reaches beyond these individuals -- indeed, the availability of treatment has acted as a catalyst for other HIV/AIDS education and outreach efforts. For instance, a small support group of 3 persons has grown into a monthly meeting of over 70 people, offering a space for patient education, peer-peer counseling and emotional support.
Donating MedicationAlready a Donor?Request more pre-paid FedEx labels for shipping medications.The Starfish Project pays for all shipping costs of medications. Send donations to: Starfish Project Medications We CollectWe collect all antiretroviral (ARV) medications, including Protease Inhibitors (PIs), Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs) and Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs). We collect Kaletra or Norvir capsules, but not oral solutions.We also collect other medications that can be used to treat opportunistic infections, such as:
If you have questions about which non-ARV medications we accept, please contact us before shipping. If you would like to donate medical supplies, contact us and we can provide you with information on other organizations that collect medical supplies. Donating InstructionsPre-donation storage of medicationsThree of the Protease Inhibitors (PI) used in the treatment of HIV infection should be refrigerated while in storage, as they deteriorate if not refrigerated. Medications requiring cold storage
Please promptly refrigerate these medications once in your possession and keep them refrigerated until the day they are shipped. Packaging medications for shipment Please place all pill bottles in a plastic bag and place this bag inside of a cardboard box. All pill bottles should be closed securely. No loose capsules or tablets should be present in the plastic bag or box. ShippingFor locations in New York City, please call to arrange a pickup. Or, if you are able to drop off medications, bring them to the Center for Special Studies at 119 West 24th Street, in between 6th and 7th Avenue.For all other donors, please ship all medications via FedEx Priority Overnight (Next Business Morning) for arrival in New York on non-holiday weekdays (ship Sunday through Thursday for arrival in New York Monday through Friday). A single box may contain both cold-stored and non cold-stored medications. No ice, dry ice or cold packs are required for cold-stored medications.
Education ProgramThrough the Starfish Project, the Center for Special Studies extends its clinical and research expertise to the global fight against the AIDS epidemic. Starfish is a peer-to-peer effort that provides treatment utilizing ARV therapy in resource-limited settings, using a partnership model to strengthen the capacity of the health care infrastructure in these settings. The Starfish Project is dedicated to strengthening the capacity of our Nigerian partners to offer top-rate, comprehensive HIV/AIDS care. This goal is achieved through provider education and the contribution of materials like diagnostic equipment, physical infrastructure support, and, at heart, the HIV medications themselves (including drugs to fight opportunistic infections). We provides a one-month training to Nigerian professionals -- including nurses, doctors, and laboratory scientists -- and support continuing education through on-site follow-up and ongoing communications about patient care. By strengthening this knowledge base, the Starfish Project is helping to cultivate a cadre of dedicated HIV/AIDS practitioners who will lead in their country's fight against the AIDS crisis.
History of the ProjectThe Starfish Program began in 1998 when a physician from Nigeria, who received HIV training through the Arthur Ashe Program at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, requested medications for the treatment of a nurse in her clinic in Nigeria who was dying of AIDS. With the intent of providing ARVs for that one patient, an effort was made to collect unused medications from patients at the hospital's Center for Special Studies. This effort was incredibly successful and resulted in the collection of so much medication that there was enough to start several patients in the Nigeria clinic on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). As word spread of the program, other healthcare providers began collecting medications for and supplying them to the program. As a result, there are now more than 100 individual practitioners and clinics providing medications to the program and the numbers of growing as we reach out to new networks across the country.
Project LocationThe Starfish Project |
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