In an attempt to cut costs and reduce medical waste, many hospitals are recycling single-use medical devices ranging from scissors and scrubs to the blades surgeons use to saw through bones.
The practice is legal as long as certain FDA guidelines are followed. But the practice has raised concerns about safety. Medical device makers say their single-use products pose a higher risk of failure and harm when recycled.
Products labeled for single use are usually not designed to hold up to harsh sterilization chemicals and processes. Even when the devices are sterilized, blood, tissue or other bodily fluids remaining on porous surfaces could allow transmission of viral and bacterial infections, according to device makers.