cher and elisheva are both right about selling used pumps on ebay or
elsewhere. i see them everywhere, garage sales, people calling me up to buy a
single tube so they can sell theirs, etc. of course the company doesn't want
anyone reselling them, they want everyone to buy a new one. the threat of
contamination is not false, i have had other more experience pump sellers
tell me that they find mold inside the pump from milk backup. since very few
viruses live very long, someone who quit using a pump and then later sold it
probably isn't selling live, dangerous viruses. its a "buyer beware" kind of
world, and yes, the ultimate fallout is people using a wornout pump and
thinking their breasts don't work.

however, i do feel strongly that medela needs to make some changes to their
equipment, since the other "major brand" (hollister) doesn't have this
problem due to a different setup. its insulting to say "don't buy a used
pump, it could be contaminated," when, as someone pointed out, this could
affect the original owner as well.

of course, having to do the retail business thing make me, in general, tired.

carol brussel IBCLC

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