Donated a double at a blood drive at a local church 2 weeks back. Small town, two churches alternate hosting the drive. The larger of the 2 facilities was used this time. Not sure if it was planned or happenstance. Only appointments, signs on the doors asking walkins to go to the blood center 25 minutes away. They had more people willing to get an appointment than they had slots available. They actually were calling people on the waiting list the day before to replace cancellations. Same basic precautions that are now commonplace. Everyone masked, oral temp before entering, gloves, etc. Food section pretty skimpy for what these places typically provide. The small Oreo and Cheeto bags with water. In the past I’ve had homemade soup, pies, torts, sandwiches and the local cheese plants and butchers donate platters full of their products. Never leave hungry normally.
Our blood bank is also requiring all donors to wear masks. If they don’t have one, we will provide one. If the donor refuses it, they cannot donate blood.
I’m getting quite anxious with people waiting. They schedule their appointment, but because we are only allowed four donors on the bloodmobile and two at a time actually donating, we can fall behind if there is any delay, from a recheck of blood pressure to a reaction. I HATE it when people have to wait and I don’t know how to move past that anxiety. Most people have been understanding but apparently there were two donors at a drive yesterday (I was working the other one) who got quite angry.
Is it possible to build in some breaks between appointments to give yourself a cushion? I realize that will reduce the number of donors you can accept, but if the delays are getting to the point that people are becoming upset, there might be a greater risk of losing them forever as donors.
Efficient scheduling is always a challenge. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. There was a thread on another board I visit about slow service in Caribbean restaurants, in which numerous people, including an American doctor, were absolutely indignant at having to wait 30 minutes for a beer. I thought back to all the times I’ve had to wait 30 minutes or more past my scheduled appointment time to see my doctor, and wondered if he takes any special measures to ensure that never happens to his patients, or if he thinks only his time is valuable, and his patients should wait for him while restaurants take care to never keep him waiting. There’s clearly an element of privilege and power at work here; important people expect not to have to wait, unless the person they’re waiting for is even more important.
I mentioned earlier that I’ve noticed some hot and cold treatment from blood banks; when they want donors, they’re fawningly obsequious, but when they’re overwhelmed, they can be abrupt and occasionally downright rude to these people who are literally offering up a part of themselves for no meaningful compensation. (I think my local center still gives out movie tickets. How quaint!) Medical professionals are, of course, Very Important People, but perhaps in this particular scenario they might consider treating the “patients” more like valued customers, e.g. by taking steps to avoid keeping them waiting.
I have never been treating with anything but the utmost of respect when I have donated blood and have done so many dozens of times over the last 38 years. We had to wear masks when I donated last week. I am honestly surprised that a blood donor would be upset about having to wear a mask.
I may be projecting. I hate to be kept waiting so I assume others do too. I have asked co-workers how they deal and they say it’s something you get used to.
I thought your co-workers told you that two people got angry yesterday? How could that be you projecting?
I mean projecting in that EVERYONE kept waiting will get pissed off. That’s not normally the case. But some people can be quite vocal and I understand…we’re frustrated too. In the past we could fill all five beds on the bus with donors and pack another five in the waiting seats, but we can’t do that now, so the pace has slowed down.
I have no idea how we will handle high school drives in the fall. There is NO way we can get all the donors processed with the social distance requirements we have now.
How long are people being kept waiting? Are we talking a few people each day having to wait 5 minutes, or the majority of donors each day having to wait at least a few minutes and some up to an hour?
One drive had people waiting more than an hour.
In that case, I would reiterate my previous suggestion that your organization consider building in some more buffer time between appointments so that this doesn’t happen. I don’t think you’re projecting when you imagine that, even among those who express understanding, there are those who are unhappy about being made to wait so long. It would probably deter me from coming back. I wouldn’t storm off in a fit of pique, and when it came to be my turn and you apologized I would say it’s OK. But it wouldn’t be OK. And when the time rolled around that I could donate again, I might look at all the work I have to do (my workload has not decreased one iota during the pandemic; I’m doing a lot of it on weekends) and the precious few opportunities to go diving (it’s very weather-dependent, and I’m loathe to make an appointment to donate on what could turn out to be the only good diving day in weeks) and I might just think…eh, I don’t have time right now.I’d fully intend to make an appointment once things settle down… but you know how that goes.
I’ve been donating since high school (I was a platelet donor, too), because my dad was a multi-gallon donor, and it was just the natural thing to do.
The only time I had a problem with my reaction was the time I donated at work mid-morning, and I had skipped breakfast. So dumb. I was fine until I stood up to walk to the cookie table. Then, I was so thankful that the skinny little 80 yr old lady had an iron grip on my elbow, because I *would *have collapsed. I’ve never come close to fainting since. And I learned my lesson!
The only time I had an issue with the donation itself was when I got a bad stick, and they said the needle was against the vein or something?
I enjoy chatting with the Red Cross volunteers, too. One guy I was talking to was on his way to a donation site when the Whittier Narrows quake hit (we were talking about it because our building had had quite bad damage; we were nearly on the epicenter). He was parked on a hill overlooking downtown LA. It was early morning, and the sun was at the right angle to hit all the glass office buildings. He said they all started to shimmer, and it was beautiful. Then, he felt the quake. Not so beautiful then!
Sorry, I just noticed this kind of old post. The last time I donated it was a double red and I was over 42 hours fasting. I know hydration is important just to keep the volume up, but I’ve never had trouble donating during a fast, and I’ve done it a lot. They do get kind of pushy about the snack before you leave, but I find I can sip a bottle of water until they’re distracted and then escape,
I understand. It is a commitment on your part and you’re doing it out of the kindness of your heart. We are heading into a new month with new guidelines so we’ll see how things go. We’re pretty much week by week at this point.
I gave platelets today, 3rd time since March. I got multiple notifications this week on my Red Cross donor app saying “urgent need, remember your appointment.” I didn’t get those last month, but I don’t know if the need was greater now or maybe they added the feature to the app recently.
Platelets only last five days, so the need for those is pretty constant.
Oh, my lordy god.
First of all, that’s a pretty sweeping statement to make. I live in NYC and have a rare type. My typical go is 2 units of RBC.
A lengthy conversation with an Admin at the New York Blood Center confirms that while they are trying to keep people apart, they are so desperate for units of anyoldthing that they are taking all comers.
Doing an RBC donation involves being strapped down for 60-90 minutes. In an environment with unknown carriers. Unknown air flow volume per minute. And uncontrollable proximity to infected persons.
Yeah. It’s not bloodborne. We all know that. We also KNOW that it’s carried and dispersed through aerosolated exhalations by people who have no clue at all that they are carrying and dispersing it.
So do I feel bad that there’s a dangerous shortage? Yeah. Do I want to be the noble martyr, going off to a completely uncontrolled environment where I am forced to breathe the same air as unknown carriers? Nope.
See, I was born not breathing properly. Have had asthma since that moment. Unlike, say, 95% of the population I already KNOW what it is to suffocate slowly. Any chance to avoid COVID-19 is one I take.
I’ll pass.
Well, that was the prevailing consensus back on March 14 when ivylass posted that. Remember the old days when “wash your hands, don’t worry about a mask” was the rule? I’m sure she would revise the risk assessment now.
With my double-unit platelet donations, I’m in a closed environment for over 3 hours, 2½ of that trapped on a couch with multiple other people on nearby couches and nurses frequently hovering over me. Everyone is required to wear masks for the entire duration, but I have no illusions that it is completely risk free. It’s a calculated risk I’m willing to take.
If I had a pre-existing condition like asthma, or if I lived in a hotspot like NYC, I’d probably make a different decision, so I certainly don’t fault you for yours.
Clearly if you are at risk now because of a health condition, you should sit it out for now. For anyone else, it’s a critical time more than normal. I used to do the double red cells but as I have gotten older, it just takes too much out of me so I do the whole blood now. Really, the finger prick is the most painful part for me. I may try platelets some day but it’s kind of a pain in the ass to go to where they do that. The center where they do the regular blood donations is practically down the street.
Just to make sure we are all on the same page, I have nothing but respect for each person’s ability to do their personal risk assessment.
And I appreciate the respect being shown for my own personal risk assessment.
As is the case with any other behaviors outside of our home or outside of our car which is considered by most to be a safe Zone, we each do what we are comfortable doing.
The very idea that my inaction may cause someone else harm or limit their ability to recover from a healthcare emergency is the source of personal torture.
If I decide that my life is worthless and my blood cells are of much greater value to someone else, then I will be in that chair tomorrow morning.
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The blood bank in my area is taking everyone’s temperature before they even start the process. Everyone, staff and donors, must wear masks. There are extra sanitation precautions and the number of donors on the bloodmobile is limited. If you do not feel comfortable donating on a bloodmobile I completely understand.