Among the things Katerina Kaisari’s grandfather left behind when he died last year was a stockpile of expensive heart medication.
“My mum wanted to throw the boxes away,” said Kaisari from her hometown of Athens. “But I wanted to donate them to people who couldn’t afford to buy their own medication.”
Although Kaisari was keen not to let the drugs go to waste, she had no idea how to actually follow through with her idea until a friend recommended GIVMED, a Greek nonprofit that matches leftover medicines with people on low incomes.
For those based in Athens, where GIVMED is based, people with drugs to donate scan the barcodes of medicines they no longer need using GIVMED’s mobile app. The app then shows which of the 40 listed healthcare organizations around the city need those particular drugs, letting the user choose whichever donation point is most convenient. For donors who live outside the capital, an online map shows the 120 or so donation points across the country.