The legislation requires not simply that the medical supplies or
equipment concerned is given for human use, but in addition that
the gift is made ‘for humanitarian purposes’. This
further condition reflects the broad intention of the provisions,
which is to encourage responsible and appropriate donations.
The World Health Organisation produces guidelines for drug
donations. They are accessible at
http://www.who.int/medical_devices/publications/en/Donation_Guidelines.pdf
and are summarised at
BIM45205.
Cases that fall within the World Health Organisation
guidelines should be accepted as meeting the condition that the
gift is made for humanitarian purposes. If the circumstances of the
case give any reason for doubting that the gift was made for
humanitarian purposes, advice should be sought from CT&VAT
(Technical).
