23-Gauge Butterfly Needles: U.S. Suppliers, Manufacturers, and Buying Guide

Summary

• Major U.S. medical-supply distributors, including McKesson, Medline, Cardinal Health, Henry Schein, and Owens & Minor, commonly offer 23-gauge butterfly needle products from established manufacturers.
• Common product families include BD Vacutainer Safety-Lok, Greiner Bio-One VACUETTE, Terumo SurFlash, Nipro Safelet, and other safety-engineered blood-collection sets.
• Before purchasing, healthcare organizations should confirm the exact gauge, needle length, tubing length, connector type, safety mechanism, packaging, FDA status, and compatibility with their blood-collection equipment.

Understanding 23-Gauge Butterfly Needles

23-gauge butterfly needles are winged blood-collection or infusion devices designed for Venipuncture, particularly when a patient has small, fragile, mobile, or difficult-to-access veins. The device generally consists of a short needle, two flexible wings, attached tubing, and a connection at the opposite end. Depending on the product, that connection may be a luer connector, a needle holder, or a preattached blood-collection adapter.

The term “23-gauge” refers to the outside diameter of the needle. In the gauge system, a higher gauge number generally indicates a smaller needle diameter. A 23-gauge needle is therefore smaller than a 21-gauge needle and larger than a 25-gauge needle. The appropriate gauge depends on the patient, procedure, specimen requirements, vein condition, blood-flow needs, and the policies of the organization using the device.

Butterfly needles are used in hospitals, physician offices, outpatient laboratories, urgent-care centers, home-health services, Mobile Phlebotomy practices, blood-drawing centers, and some veterinary settings. In the United States, they are often purchased as sterile, single-use devices. Many current products incorporate a safety feature intended to reduce accidental Needlestick Injuries after use.

Buyers should distinguish between a conventional winged needle and a safety butterfly needle. A conventional device may still be available for limited applications, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard requires employers to use engineering and work-practice controls designed to eliminate or minimize occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials. In many clinical settings, safety-engineered devices are the expected choice.

Major U.S. Suppliers and Distribution Channels

Several national distributors sell 23-gauge butterfly needles to U.S. healthcare organizations. Availability changes according to manufacturer contracts, regional inventory, product recalls, backorders, and purchasing agreements. A supplier may list a product online or in a catalog while restricting sales to licensed healthcare facilities, registered businesses, or customers with an established account.

McKesson Medical-Surgical

McKesson Medical-Surgical is one of the largest healthcare distributors serving hospitals, physician practices, laboratories, long-term-care facilities, and other Healthcare Providers in the United States. Its catalog commonly includes winged blood-collection sets in several gauges, including 23 gauge, from major manufacturers.

Customers may encounter products with different tubing lengths, safety mechanisms, needle lengths, and connection configurations. Some items are designed to work with evacuated blood-collection tubes, while others use a luer connection and require a separate holder or adapter. A McKesson customer should compare the manufacturer’s catalog number rather than relying only on a short product description.

Medline

Medline is both a manufacturer and a large medical-supply distributor. Its product portfolio includes blood-collection supplies, safety needles, collection sets, specimen containers, tourniquets, gloves, sharps containers, and related phlebotomy products. Medline may offer its own branded products as well as products from other manufacturers.

For buyers seeking 23-gauge butterfly needles, the important questions include whether the product has a passive or active safety mechanism, whether the tubing is kink-resistant, whether the set includes a preattached holder, and whether the needle is intended for blood collection, short-term infusion, or both. These distinctions can affect Workflow and total cost.

Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health Medical Distribution supplies a broad range of products to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, laboratories, physician practices, and other healthcare organizations. Its offerings commonly include blood-collection sets and safety-engineered winged needles in multiple gauges.

Cardinal Health customers often purchase under group purchasing organization agreements or facility-specific contracts. Contract pricing may differ substantially from publicly displayed pricing. In addition to the unit price, organizations should evaluate freight charges, minimum order quantities, allocation policies, substitutions, and the supplier’s ability to maintain consistent inventory.

Henry Schein Medical

Henry Schein Medical serves physician offices, outpatient clinics, laboratories, and other healthcare professionals. Its catalog includes Venipuncture and blood-collection products, including butterfly-style needles in common sizes such as 21, 23, and 25 gauge.

Henry Schein may be particularly useful for smaller practices that need moderate quantities instead of hospital-scale case volumes. Buyers should confirm whether a listed product is sterile, single-use, individually packaged, and intended for the procedure being performed. Dental and medical catalogs may contain similar-looking devices with different intended uses, so product details should be reviewed carefully.

Owens & Minor

Owens & Minor is a major healthcare logistics and distribution company serving hospitals, integrated delivery networks, laboratories, and outpatient organizations. It distributes a wide variety of medical and surgical supplies, including phlebotomy products from established manufacturers.

Large healthcare systems may obtain 23-gauge butterfly needles through an Owens & Minor contract rather than through a public retail-style catalog. The purchasing department may need to search by the manufacturer’s catalog number, internal item number, or a standardized product description. This is especially important when a health system has approved product lists.

Henry Schein, Medline, McKesson, and Other Regional Distributors

In addition to national distributors, regional medical-supply companies may sell 23-gauge butterfly needles. These businesses can sometimes provide more personalized service, local delivery, and lower minimum orders. However, buyers should verify that the supplier is an authorized distributor or that its products come from a traceable U.S. Supply Chain.

Online marketplaces can also display butterfly needles, but marketplace listings require additional caution. The purchaser should verify the seller, expiration date, lot number, packaging condition, storage history, return policy, and whether the product is genuinely new and sterile. A low price is not an advantage if the product cannot be traced or is close to expiration.

Manufacturers Commonly Found in U.S. Distribution Catalogs

BD Vacutainer Safety-Lok Blood Collection Sets

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is one of the best-known manufacturers of blood-collection products. BD Vacutainer Safety-Lok blood-collection sets are widely recognized in U.S. laboratories and clinical settings. Product configurations commonly include 23-gauge options, different tubing lengths, and safety mechanisms intended to help protect the user after Venipuncture.

BD products may be sold through McKesson, Cardinal Health, Medline, Henry Schein, Owens & Minor, and other authorized channels. The product name alone is not enough to identify the exact item. Buyers should confirm the catalog number, needle length, tubing length, connector type, and whether a holder is included.

Greiner Bio-One VACUETTE Products

Greiner Bio-One manufactures VACUETTE blood-collection systems and winged blood-collection sets. Its product families may include safety-engineered sets in 23 gauge and other sizes. Greiner products are frequently used with evacuated blood-collection systems, although configuration and compatibility must be checked for each item.

Greiner’s products may be available through laboratory and medical distributors in the United States. Laboratories that already use VACUETTE tubes or other Greiner collection equipment may prefer to standardize on the same manufacturer. Standardization can simplify staff training, reduce product substitutions, and make validation easier.

Terumo SurFlash and Related Safety Products

Terumo manufactures needles and blood-collection products used in hospitals, clinics, and laboratories. Terumo SurFlash products and related winged infusion or collection devices may be offered in 23-gauge configurations, depending on the specific product family and market availability.

Terumo products can differ in intended use. Some are designed primarily for blood collection, while others are designed for infusion or catheter-related procedures. A purchaser should not assume that every 23-gauge winged device is interchangeable. The product’s instructions for use, connector type, priming requirements, and approved applications should be reviewed before substitution.

Nipro Safelet and Similar Safety Sets

Nipro manufactures needles and safety-engineered blood-collection devices. Nipro Safelet products may be listed by U.S. distributors in 23-gauge configurations, with variations in tubing, wings, safety activation, and packaging.

Nipro products can be an alternative when a facility is managing cost, supply continuity, or a manufacturer-diversification strategy. Before changing brands, a laboratory should assess whether the new set works properly with its tube holders, evacuated tubes, transfer devices, specimen labels, and existing collection procedures.

Other Private-Label and Contract Products

Many distributors offer private-label or contract-manufactured butterfly needles. These products may be manufactured by a third party but sold under a distributor’s brand. Private-label devices can be competitively priced and may meet the same general clinical need as national-brand products.

However, a private-label product should be evaluated using the same standards applied to a national brand. The buyer should obtain the manufacturer’s name, product specifications, regulatory information, instructions for use, sterilization method, lot-traceability details, and quality certifications where applicable. A product’s brand name should never replace a review of its technical documentation.

What to Check in a 23-Gauge Product Listing

“23-gauge butterfly needle” describes only one feature of the device. Two products with the same gauge may have different performance, safety, and Workflow characteristics. A purchasing department should compare the complete specification before placing an order.

1. Needle length: Common options may include short and standard lengths. The correct length depends on the intended patient population, vein depth, and procedure.
2. Tubing length: Tubing may be offered in several lengths. Longer tubing can provide flexibility but may increase dead space and handling requirements.
3. Connector configuration: Determine whether the set has a luer lock, slip connection, preattached holder, or another interface.
4. Safety mechanism: Identify whether the mechanism is passive or requires activation by the user. Review activation instructions and confirmation features.
5. Wing design: Wing shape, color coding, grip texture, and flexibility can affect insertion and stabilization.
6. Needle bevel and geometry: Manufacturers may use different bevel designs or needle technologies that influence insertion characteristics.
7. Sterility and packaging: Confirm that the product is sterile, single-use, individually packaged, and within its expiration date.
8. Blood-collection compatibility: Confirm compatibility with evacuated tubes, holders, transfer devices, and specimen-collection procedures.
9. Priming volume and dead space: This may matter when collecting small-volume specimens or pediatric samples.
10. Latex and material information: Facilities serving patients with sensitivities should review whether latex is present in the device or packaging.
11. Regulatory documentation: Maintain product records, instructions for use, lot information, and applicable FDA documentation.

Safety Features and Needlestick Prevention

Needlestick Injuries remain a significant occupational-health concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has historically cited estimates of approximately 385,000 percutaneous injuries among hospital-based healthcare personnel annually in the United States. Older estimates may not represent current conditions, and reporting practices vary, but the figure illustrates why safety-engineered devices and safe work practices are important.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers covered by the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard to use engineering controls, maintain exposure-control plans, provide training, and involve affected employees in selecting and evaluating safer devices. A safety butterfly needle is one engineering control, but it does not eliminate risk by itself.

Training remains essential. Staff should know how to activate the safety feature, how to confirm that it has locked, how to avoid recapping, and how to dispose of the device immediately in an appropriate sharps container. A safety feature that is difficult to activate or easy to bypass may not perform as intended in actual practice.

Facilities should involve phlebotomists, nurses, laboratory personnel, infection-prevention staff, and purchasing professionals when evaluating a new product. OSHA’s approach emphasizes employee input because users can identify practical problems that may not be apparent from a catalog description.

FDA and Quality Considerations

Butterfly needles are medical devices, and U.S. purchasers should confirm that the product is legally marketed for its intended use. Depending on the product and regulatory pathway, manufacturers may provide information relating to FDA clearance, registration, listing, or other applicable requirements. Registration alone does not mean that every product claim is approved, so buyers should review the manufacturer’s documentation.

The FDA’s Unique Device Identification system is intended to improve the identification of medical devices through distribution and use. Where applicable, organizations should record the device identifier, lot number, expiration date, and other information required by their internal quality systems. This supports inventory control, complaint handling, and recall response.

Purchasers should also monitor FDA safety communications and manufacturer recall notices. A hospital or clinic may receive products from multiple distributors, so its inventory system should be able to identify which lots are in stock and where they were used. This is particularly important for sterile invasive devices.

Quality checks should be performed when a shipment arrives. Staff should examine the shipping carton and individual packages for crushed boxes, moisture, broken seals, contamination, incorrect items, and expiration dates that are too short for the organization’s needs. Damaged or questionable sterile packages should be quarantined and investigated according to facility policy.

Pricing, Case Quantities, and Total Cost

The price of a 23-gauge butterfly needle varies according to brand, safety technology, tubing length, packaging, order quantity, contract terms, and market conditions. Public prices may not reflect the price paid by a hospital or physician practice. Large organizations frequently negotiate pricing through direct manufacturer agreements, distributors, or group purchasing organizations.

Buyers should compare price per usable device rather than price per box. A case may contain multiple boxes, and box quantities can vary. A product that appears inexpensive may have a higher cost when shipping, special handling, wastage, or required accessories are included.

Total-cost analysis should include the following factors:

1. Unit or case price.
2. Shipping, handling, and expedited-delivery fees.
3. Required blood-collection holders or adapters.
4. Training time when changing product designs.
5. Wasted or expired inventory.
6. Needlestick prevention and occupational-health considerations.
7. Compatibility with existing tubes and laboratory instruments.
8. Administrative costs associated with multiple suppliers.
9. Potential downtime caused by backorders or substitutions.

During periods of supply disruption, some organizations purchase from more than one approved supplier. Dual sourcing can improve resilience, but it may also increase the number of products staff must recognize and use correctly. A facility should validate alternative products before they are introduced into routine practice.

How to Search Supplier Catalogs Efficiently

Searching for “butterfly needle” may return hundreds of results. A more precise search should include the gauge and the intended function. Useful search terms may include “23-gauge winged blood-collection set,” “23G safety butterfly,” “23-gauge blood draw set,” or “23-gauge luer butterfly needle.”

After finding a candidate product, search the manufacturer’s catalog number in the distributor’s system. This helps prevent confusion between similar products with different needle lengths or tubing configurations. Buyers should also check whether the listed item is currently available, discontinued, allocated, backordered, or subject to quantity limits.

When requesting a quotation, provide the distributor with a complete specification rather than only a gauge. For example, a request might identify a sterile 23-gauge safety winged blood-collection set, a preferred tubing length, a luer connection or preattached holder, a desired case quantity, and a required minimum remaining shelf life.

Questions to Ask a Supplier

1. Is the product currently in stock in the United States?
2. What is the exact manufacturer and catalog number?
3. Is the needle 23 gauge, and what is its needle length?
4. What is the tubing length and internal volume?
5. Does the set include a holder or require a separate holder?
6. How is the safety feature activated and confirmed?
7. Is the product sterile and single-use?
8. What is the expected shelf life at the time of shipment?
9. Can the supplier provide lot numbers and expiration dates before shipment?
10. Is the product covered by a return policy if the packaging is damaged?
11. Is the product available under the facility’s group purchasing or contract agreement?
12. What alternatives are available if the product is backordered?

Choosing Between National Brands and Private Labels

National brands may offer extensive clinical documentation, established user familiarity, broad distributor coverage, and predictable product specifications. These advantages can be valuable for facilities with formal product committees or strict standardization requirements.

Private-label products may offer lower acquisition costs and competitive features. They can be suitable when the distributor provides sufficient technical documentation and the product passes the facility’s evaluation process. The decision should be based on clinical performance, safety, supply reliability, and total cost—not merely on brand recognition.

A product trial should involve the personnel who will use the device routinely. Evaluation criteria may include ease of vein access, wing stability, tubing flexibility, visibility of blood flow, safety activation, compatibility with collection tubes, packaging, and user satisfaction. Results should be documented and reviewed before a large conversion.

Special Considerations for Pediatric, Geriatric, and Difficult Draws

23-gauge butterfly needles are often selected for patients with small or fragile veins, but gauge selection should remain a clinical decision. Pediatric and Geriatric Patients may require special positioning, smaller collection volumes, careful Tourniquet use, and techniques intended to reduce hemolysis and repeat attempts.

A smaller needle does not automatically solve every difficult-draw problem. Excessive suction, an unstable vein, improper insertion angle, or an unsuitable collection tube can affect specimen quality. Laboratories should follow their approved procedures and manufacturer instructions, especially for coagulation testing, blood cultures, pediatric collections, and other tests with strict collection requirements.

Facilities should also consider whether a butterfly set is being used for a blood draw or infusion. The same gauge may appear in both categories, but the devices can have different intended uses, flow characteristics, priming requirements, and regulatory labeling.

Recommended Purchasing Process

A structured purchasing process helps a facility obtain the correct product while reducing safety and supply risks.

1. Define the clinical requirement. Specify the gauge, intended use, patient population, safety expectations, tubing length, and connection type.
2. Identify approved suppliers. Check existing agreements with McKesson, Medline, Cardinal Health, Henry Schein, Owens & Minor, or regional distributors.
3. Compare exact catalog numbers. Do not compare products using gauge alone.
4. Review regulatory and quality documentation. Confirm labeling, sterility, lot traceability, and applicable FDA information.
5. Conduct a user evaluation. Obtain feedback from nurses, phlebotomists, laboratory personnel, and infection-prevention staff.
6. Validate compatibility. Test the product with the facility’s collection tubes, holders, transport systems, and laboratory Workflow.
7. Negotiate total cost. Include freight, accessories, training, waste, and inventory carrying costs.
8. Set inventory controls. Establish minimum and maximum stock levels, expiration monitoring, and an approved substitute list.
9. Train users before conversion. Explain safety activation, disposal, and differences from the previous device.
10. Monitor performance. Review product complaints, redraw rates, hemolysis, needlestick incidents, backorders, and staff feedback.

Final Takeaway

U.S. buyers can commonly find 23-gauge butterfly needles through McKesson Medical-Surgical, Medline, Cardinal Health, Henry Schein Medical, Owens & Minor, regional medical distributors, and authorized suppliers of manufacturers such as BD, Greiner Bio-One, Terumo, and Nipro. The exact selection depends on the organization’s clinical needs, contract arrangements, inventory availability, and safety requirements.

The most reliable purchasing decision is based on the complete product specification. Confirm the 23-gauge size, needle length, tubing length, connector, holder configuration, safety mechanism, sterility, expiration date, regulatory documentation, and compatibility with existing collection equipment. Healthcare organizations should also involve end users in evaluation and maintain procedures for training, traceability, recall management, and safe sharps disposal.

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