I have known many people who used to collect hundreds of those rings from the tops of soda (soda pop) cans. Allegedly, the aluminum would be parlayed into cash to buy dialysis time for people.
Is this just a myth? Considering that the aluminum from the soda pop cans would be of much more significance, why collect Al rings?
And, to whom would one bring these rings for collection by the Kidney Foundation?
The scary thing is that 90% of the people think they’re above average! - unknown
I worked in the hemodialysis biz for some time, and no, it’s not possible.
Here’s what goes into hemodialysis:
The dialyzer. This reusable component “filters” the blood. It ultrafiltrates the blood, as well as allows the diffusion of toxins across the membrane (See Dr. Frank Gotch’s pooled models). These things are not free, but not violently expensive.
Tubing. The tubes that run from the two needles in the access to the dialyzer, with side branches to the heparin pump, blood pressure sensor, etc. Not free, not reusable.
Dialysate. A mostly water solution. The blood is pumped throught some tubelets in the dialyzer, the Dialysate baths the tubelets, carrying away toxins, etc. Usually made on-site, fairly inexpensive.
Medications. Heparin is used in every treatment. It’s not expensive, but it’s not free. Some medications, such as epogen, are very expensive, and required.
The dialysis machine. I worked with Fresenius machines. They ran about $15-20$K a machine. The smallest clinic I saw had 8 machines, the largest (in L.A.), forty.
Technician support. Someone has to setup/monitor the machines, assist the Pt., etc.
Nurses, certain procedures can only be done by an RN or Dr.
Nephrologist. The treatments are prescriptions given out the these fine doctors, who do visit the clinics from time to time.
Administrative support. Billing medicare is a black art.
A patient has three treatments a week (either MFW, or TRS), which can last up to four hours (depends on prescription).
Last time I was in the biz, a treatment cost about $25 in materials. Medicare paid something like $280 per treatment.
Clinics, are all for profit. The way they work is that a doctor starts a clinic, and gets a good Pt. base. At this point, some one like FMC comes in a buys it for $90/Pt. That’s how it works.
To anyone in the field, it’s been two years since I was there, I might have misspelled a word or two, but I think I presented the gist of it. Feel free to correct me.
The McDonald’s in Pisgah, Ohio has a container to put the pop-tops, and a large banner explaining that all the proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald house. They collect just the poptop because, one supposes, they are more compact and less messy than collecting the whole can.
For what it’s worth, I recycle the whole can with my trash pick-up and save the pop-top for the Ronald McDonald house.
If the pop-can pull-tab kidney-dialysis thing is a hoax it’s a darned good one. I’ve seen official collection containers at Loyola University Medical Center. Mr. Thin Skin obviously knows a lot about dialysis but I assume the folks at Loyola Medical Center do too.
My understanding is that the pull tabs are counted (weighed) and the aluminum can manufacturers will donate a certain amount of money per tab. It’s strictly a donation on their part since the acutal collection probably has no impact on the number of cans sold. I suppose the whold idea of collecting the tabs is so the manufacturers can get some recognition for their donation. Judging from the responses here though, it’s obviously not working.
I noticed this in the magazine for Spirit Airlines the other week - they are collecting the pull-tabs from their flights for kidney dialysis. I don’t know whether this is valid or not.
Please go to www.about.com (urban legends section) and convince yourselves that pop-tops are a hoax. Yes, I believe Alcoa does support NKF(because of this hoax), but all the same, www.nkf.org would like your cash-money contribution. www.jfdcure.com would also be a good place to give since diabetics frequently end up with ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease). I kinda have a personal interest in this topic.
One other point, Medicaid takes care of those who cannot afford dialysis: It’s not like you can live without it. If you ever have an opportunity to visit a clinic, please do. It strengthens your faith in your fellow man: people helping people.
Dialysis for pop tops are a myth. The pop top was invented as a way to reduce the litter created by the pull tab. Then a big group of idiots comes up with a new idea to defeat this usefull packaging idea.
There was a time I would try to tell people of this but eventually gave up on it, prefering to watch in bemused indifference. I even permitted my 8 yr old stepson to collect them for his babysitter, That is until he gashed his finger open trying to rip one off. Now it just pisses me off.
Interesting timing. This one surfaced in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. According to the article,
It doesn’t say which hospital. The article goes on to say that her tab collection was started at a video store where she works, so there are probably hundreds of people out there who now believe this tale.
I know that sometimes you need to believe something that’s too good to be true, but a reality check is always in order. A call to the hospital’s billing department would have cleared a few things up. As Phil Saoud points out, it is a darned good hoax.
Snopes discusses this at some length here. It goes into all the ramifications, including the McDonald’s angle (apparently, Reynolds Aluminum recycling centers are now accepting the tabs, and donating the proceeds directly to the National Kidney foundation).
Never attribute to malice anything that can be attributed to stupidity.
– Unknown