Donate to MedicAlert Foundation

In 1953, 14-year-old girl cut her finger, deep enough to need stitches. When she arrived at the hospital, the attending physician took the normal course of action, administering a shot of tetanus antitoxin. The girl went into anaphylactic shock and nearly died.

Fortunately, she survived the incident, and three days later returned home unharmed.

That girl was Linda Collins, daughter of Dr. Marion and Chrissie Collins of Turlock, CA. Dr. Collins knew he needed to find a way to communicate Linda’s potentially fatal allergy in an emergency. Whenever Linda traveled, he attached a paper bracelet to her wrist listing her allergies, to avoid a reoccurrence of the incident that almost killed her.

In 1956 when Linda went to college, Dr. and Mrs. Collins knew they had to do something more to protect their daughter. Dr. Collins commissioned a jeweler to create a medical identification bracelet. He chose an emblem with the staff of Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine, and engraved Linda’s allergies on the bracelet. Off at college, Linda’s bracelet drew a lot of attention. That’s when a father’s simple idea to protect his daughter from a potentially fatal allergy changed the course of the medical world.

Dr. Marion and Chrissie Collins created MedicAlert, the country’s first universal symbol of medical identification. The organization’s mission, then and today, is simple: to save and protect lives by sharing vital medical information in our members’ moments of need. By alerting first responders and emergency medical personnel to a person’s allergies or chronic medical conditions, Dr. Collins knew he could improve the ability of first responders to provide fast, accurate care. Realizing the potential of his idea, Dr. Collins said, “I think I can save more lives with MedicAlert than I ever can with my scalpel.”

The Collins family established MedicAlert Foundation as a non-profit organization in 1956, running the Foundation from their living room. From our humble beginnings, we’ve grown to become the world’s most recognized medical ID symbol.

When you donate to MedicAlert Foundation, you help save lives. Thank you for your generosity!