ANDY JACKSON/STUFF Taranaki amputee society support person, Mark Barraclough is on the search for prosthetic limbs.

Mark Barraclough is happy to lend a hand - a prosthetic one that is.

The New Plymouth man is collecting used prosthetics, orthotic equipment as well as wheelchairs, crutches and walkers and donating them to New Zealand social enterprise Take My Hands.

Take My Hands refurbishes used medical equipment that can no longer be used in New Zealand and redistributes to organisations that support people in need in the Asia Pacific Region.

Barraclough is a support person for the Amputee Society of Taranaki Inc and decided to collect the limbs after attending an amputee conference where Take My Hands managing trustee Janette Searle was speaking.

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"So often we go to conferences and we hear speakers and forget what they ever said."

ANDY JACKSON/STUFF Amputee Wally Garrett (left) is helping Mark Barraclough track down more items to donate.

But this time Barraclough was influenced by Searle and wanted to help out, after learning that in New Zealand prosthetics can't be reused or recycled because it was against the country's rules and regulations.

Barraclough said he was happy to put his love of recycling to use to help with what he called a "great scheme".

So far Barraclough has sent four prosthetic legs to Take My Hands and pairs of crutches, but before donating he recommends trying to take items such as crutches back to where they came from first.

Anyone else wanting to donate prosthetic limbs to Take My Hands should send them back to the Artificial Limbs Centre who will then send it to Take My Hands, Searle said.

This is so that they can be thoroughly examined and assessed before being considered for reuse in other countries, she said.

Teaming up with the Hope Rehabilitation Society, Take My Hands has been helping to improve rehabilitation in Pakistan.

ANDY JACKSON/STUFF Mark Barraclough needs you to lend an arm or a leg.

Since officially starting in 2012 it has sent 15,000 kilograms of medical equipment to Pakistan and saved 56,000kg of equipment from landfill in New Zealand.

Barraclough said it was stories like this that had inspired his efforts to help.

"We'll see how we go in the local community and help the lady out and round up what we can.

"Once they get a bit of gear, the community over there can be a bit more self supporting.

"A hairdresser can get on both legs and get back to work."