Recall Roundup: January 2026

Whether you’re a doctor, a manufacturer, or you just love drama, you need to know about recent medical device recalls.

The FDA gets 2+ million reports of deaths, injuries, and malfunctions allegedly associated with medical devices annually. Some of these reports prompt manufacturers to send correction notices to customers with updated use instructions. A few weeks or months later, the FDA labels some of these incidents as recalls, ranging from the least dangerous, Class III, to the most dangerous, Class I.

We keep you informed on the last month of Class I recalls here in our ongoing series. So, without further ado, welcome to January 2026’s Recall Roundup!

Diabetes dangers. Some sensors on Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 3 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus continuous glucose monitors are giving inaccurate low glucose readings due to carbon buildup. In a Nov. 24 company announcement reposted by the FDA, Abbott attributed 736 serious adverse events and seven deaths to this issue worldwide, including 57 injuries in the US (but no US deaths). Customers can visit www.freestylecheck.com to see if their sensors are potentially affected. If they are, they’ll get a free replacement.

Fired up. As of Jan. 16, Medline has received 58 complaints that the hand controls and wires for some models of its homecare beds are burning, sparking, melting, smoking, or catching on fire, per a notice in the FDA’s recall database. Medline urged customers to follow use instructions and only use Medline side rails and accessories “intended for use with Medline Homecare Beds,” according to the recall.

Organ transplant obstacles. Avid Medical told customers in November to stop using the bags in certain lots of its organ recovery operating room packs, warning the bags aren’t medical grade. As of Dec. 18, Avid hasn’t reported any serious injuries or deaths associated with this issue.

Tape trouble. The Rev. 3 edition of AirLife’s Broselow Pediatric Emergency Rainbow Tape was printed with incorrect dosing amounts for sedatives vecuronium, flumazenil, and ketamine. Broselow rainbow tape is a tool used to determine the appropriate medication dose and equipment size based on a patient’s height and weight, and using these misprints as guidance could lead to an overdose. The good news: There have been no serious injuries or deaths reported as of Nov. 14, per an FDA early alert.