Medical supplies for Ukraine stuck in a warehouse in Tempe

TEMPE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - Thousands of dollars worth of medical supplies for Ukraine are sitting in a warehouse in Tempe, unable to be delivered amid rising conflict.

“It’s heart-wrenching for us to have the knowledge that what is sitting here could be saving lives there right now,” said Charles Irion, with Project C.U.R.E. “They’re going to have more needs now because of all the injuries and suffering that’s going on. So the sooner we can hopefully get this container out, the better.”

Project C.U.R.E. is a nonprofit that collects donations of medical supplies and equipment from hospitals in Arizona and ships them to 138 different countries that may not have access to these items.

“I’ve been seeing this equipment for two weeks, and I myself have questioned, why is it sitting here? And yesterday, it just became even sadder and heartbreaking that this is not going where it’s supposed to go to help the people--the mothers, the children, the senior citizens, the community of Ukraine. They’re not able to get their supplies,” explained Ruth Sanchez, the executive director of Project C.U.R.E. in Arizona.

Sanchez says anywhere between $250,000 to $1 million goes into the 40-foot shipping containers.

“This is all medical. We don’t do pharmaceuticals. We do equipment, biomed, x-rays, ultrasounds, and then PPE--the gowns, the gloves, the masks, the syringes, that’s here too,” Sanchez explained. “We have wheelchairs; we have baby warmers. Everything in the boxes you see for Ukraine that is what you and I have readily at any facility here in the United States.” This shipment was scheduled to leave the warehouse for Ukraine yesterday. “We had been scheduled actually for two weeks, and we finally got a confirmation two days ago it’s going to be here, and overnight that changed, and the freight forwarder said we’re not comfortable sending anything to that region.”

Sanchez says Project C.U.R.E. is working with government officials to find a safe way to get the supplies to Ukraine. They are considering shipping the container to either Poland or Germany. “We’re really working hard to get this resolved and another two weeks, and we’re talking saving lives here,” Sanchez said.

Project C.U.R.E now has a donation campaign to help Ukraine. If you would like to donate, click here.