Diabetic Supplies and Airport Security Part 2

On this current trip there has been one component that has really thrown security agents and has been a real pain and a place of anxiety for me, which is my extra insulin pump. On all previous trips I have not carried an extra insulin pump with me. I may start to now, knowing how easy it is to arrange a loaner pump with Medtronic; however in the past I didn’t realize it was an option. In the pump manual, Medtronic (the maker of my insulin pump) has written “If you are going to have an X-ray, CT scan, MRI or other type of exposure to radiation, take off your pump, meter and remote control before entering a room containing any of this equipment.” BUT then one sentence later it also states, “The Paradigm pump is designed to withstand common electromagnetic interference, including airport security systems.” I have always interpreted this as I can walk through the metal detector just fine, but I should not send my insulin pump through the X-ray machine. I have talked to a Medtronic representative who confirmed this.

So this means that I have to ask for a ‘hand-check’ of my loaner insulin pump. I take it out of my suitcase, send everything else through the X-ray, and then I ask for a hand-check of it before I walk through the metal detector. In the US this goes over fine. They seem used to this concept when I explain that it is an insulin pump because I am diabetic. In other countries this has been a big problem.

Surprisingly the place I had the biggest problem was the Schipol airport in Amsterdam. When returning from South Africa to Seattle our layover was in Amsterdam. Based on a policy created after 9-11 Northwest Airlines (now Delta) has you go through another security check before entering the gate area for flights into the US. Duncan and I had our passports screened by an agent who asked something that prompted me to tell her that I was diabetic and carrying diabetic supplies including an insulin pump. Ironically, she responded that she was also diabetic and had an insulin pump and gave me some encouraging words about how long she had been diabetic and complication free. I thanked her and headed to the last stop on the screening, the X-ray and metal detector machines. Here I did the usual, took off my shoes, and jacket, put all my liquids including insulin separately in their plastic tub, took out my loaner insulin pump and then sent my bag through the X-ray machine. Then, holding my loaner pump, I stood near the metal detector and asked for a hand-check, stating what the pump was.

This greatly confused the agent I asked, who looked at me quizzically and then told me to wait there. After five minutes another agent came and told me that I had to put it through the X-ray. I refused (politely) saying that it could not go through the X-ray. This agent then had his supervisor come over. He explained the situation to her; she told me that I had to put it through the X-ray because this was a flight to the US. I refused (politely). She called her supervisor (located somewhere offsite) and then relayed back to me that I really had to put it through the X-ray. At this point both Duncan and I are getting very frustrated. I asked them to talk to the security agent who had checked my passport. Here’s where the big problem was. This agent, despite being diabetic herself and wearing an insulin pump, believed that the insulin pump would be fine to go through the X-ray machine as long as it didn’t have insulin in it. This logic made no sense whatsoever - that somehow the liquid insulin would be affected by magnetic fields but that the pump which actually has intricate metal parts would not be is beyond me. Her testimony was the kiss of death. Completely defeated and seemingly without any other option, I sent the loaner pump through the X-ray.

Duncan, who is really my advocate when I can no longer be, understood the severity of the situation and made a complaint with the supervisor on site and asked for her name so that we could file a formal complaint. Once we were in Thailand I was able to take some time to write my formal complaint which I sent to Northwest Airlines via email. I had assumed that because they were the ones who mandated another security check before flights going to the US that they were also the ones who mandated the security policy. A month after I sent the email I received a thoughtful email back stating (my summary) that while they were very sorry for this experience, Northwest Airlines did not make the security policy even though the security agents in Amsterdam specifically stated that it was Northwest Policy. They also gave both Duncan and I some air miles and thankfully gave me the name and address of the company that provides security services at Schipol. I’ve sent a letter to this company stating my experience and my concerns and asking that they figure out how to hand-check medical equipment that cannot be send through the X-ray. I have not received a response yet.

The good news is that the loaner pump seems to have not been affected by the X-ray. (Albeit, this is only based on my opinion of using it for a short time after this experience to make sure it was still alive and kicking).

So here’s what I learned from this experience. Hold out! Do not let airport security make you do something that you know could damage your medical supplies and therefore threaten your health. Also I now carry a printout of the page of the manual that states that the insulin pump should not go through X-rays. However, my next task is to let Medtronic know that the way they write this (as quoted above) can be confusing since it states that common airport security systems are okay. This needs to be changed to say that only metal detectors are okay.

While I definitely understand the need for airport security, any organization with a good policy should also know the policy’s limitations and when it is acceptable to make exceptions. I hope in writing the security company for Schipol that this will be acknowledged and that there will be different protocol on handling medical equipment that cannot go through the X-ray machine.


Andrea