Blood donor service...... going down the pan?

[I like Skol]

I've just had to walk out of a donor session. I have been a donor for around 10 years and usually manage to get in at least 2 donations a year but recently, maybe for about 2 years, they have really started to drag out the waiting times for drop-in donors. Today I had waited 40 minutes so went to the check-in desk and they still couldn't tell me how long it would be except I was still a fair way down the pile (despite being in a queue of about 10 people when they opened the doors).

In the last few years they have really been pushing the appointment system and often ring in advance of a session to try and get me to book in. Unfortunately, for various reasons, it isn't really convenient for me to book in advance so they always say it's no problem and they will be glad to see me on the day anyway.
IMO they are taking advance bookings for 95-100% of the capacity and using drop-in donors to fill the gaps and cover any no-shows. If they don't want drop-in donors why don't they just say so?

To make matters worse, they are always advertising on the radio, saying how desperate they are and how blood stocks are low. When they send a letter about an upcoming session the top of the page is filled with comments like 'we need your help - please give blood' and 'always an urgent need for blood' etc. In fact at the bottom of my invitation letter it says stocks of my blood type have fallen sharply so please make a special effort to attend, when I said I was leaving they just apologised and watched me go!

If they put less effort in to their promotional campaign and crappy booking service and just got more sessions and staff to cope with the current demand I reckon they would have a superior service and greater blood stocks.

Anyway, rant over. I'm going to email them and ask to be removed from the mailing lists and tell them exactly why!!!

 

[Tommy2]

They need to do more out of office hours sessions, I can't get to the town centre on a Wednesday at 10am because I am at work.

 

[Chromatic]

They need to do more out of office hours sessions, I can't get to the town centre on a Wednesday at 10am because I am at work.

In the good old days the blood donor people came round to our place of work twice a year and employees could go and give blood during their working day.

 

[postman]

I got to a silver badge,then i had a number of operations,knees,gall bladder ,eye, hernia and i understand you have to wait before you can give again.By then i lost the get up and go.

 

[vernon]

It's a known problem. It's been covered in the news. Changes to streamline staffing and hours have all negatively impacted on the amount of blood donated collected.

I am unable to offer any solutions and I didn't get to hear the responses from the National Blood Service on the radio.

 

[vernon]

I got to a silver badge,then i had a number of operations,knees,gall bladder ,eye, hernia and i understand you have to wait before you can give again.By then i lost the get up and go.

By the time you have the get up and go, the service will have got up and gone.

 

[rich p]

I've just had to walk out of a donor session. I have been a donor for around 10 years and usually manage to get in at least 2 donations a year but recently, maybe for about 2 years, they have really started to drag out the waiting times for drop-in donors. Today I had waited 40 minutes so went to the check-in desk and they still couldn't tell me how long it would be except I was still a fair way down the pile (despite being in a queue of about 10 people when they opened the doors).

In the last few years they have really been pushing the appointment system and often ring in advance of a session to try and get me to book in. Unfortunately, for various reasons, it isn't really convenient for me to book in advance so they always say it's no problem and they will be glad to see me on the day anyway.
IMO they are taking advance bookings for 95-100% of the capacity and using drop-in donors to fill the gaps and cover any no-shows. If they don't want drop-in donors why don't they just say so?

To make matters worse, they are always advertising on the radio, saying how desperate they are and how blood stocks are low. When they send a letter about an upcoming session the top of the page is filled with comments like 'we need your help - please give blood' and 'always an urgent need for blood' etc. In fact at the bottom of my invitation letter it says stocks of my blood type have fallen sharply so please make a special effort to attend, when I said I was leaving they just apologised and watched me go!

If they put less effort in to their promotional campaign and crappy booking service and just got more sessions and staff to cope with the current demand I reckon they would have a superior service and greater blood stocks.

Anyway, rant over. I'm going to email them and ask to be removed from the mailing lists and tell them exactly why!!!

I had the same issue and just gave up going - God how I miss those TUC biscuits!

 

[Melonfish]

the business park i used to work on got a visit every 4 months from a van, most people on the park attended.
we tried at my current place to get the van in (you need 90 people minimum) we had one visit, 75% of those who said they'd go attended and one had to go to hosi afterwards as they couldn't get any blood from her and when they pulled the needle out a clot came with. yeah lots of fun for her.
anyways, they didn't show again, so i've ended up not donating.
shame because i'm quite happy to. my piercing is now healed up nicely so i guess i could again, the only thing i really really hate is the iron test where they stab your finger. brings me out in cold sweats i hate it.
perfectly fine with the needle in the arm though, odd eh?

 

[byegad]

Many years ago my sister went and they tested her for blood type but put her on a list as a potential emergencies donor. I forget the 'type' but they told her she could be called on at short notice to donate. So I trotted off to the next session and never got as far as them testing for type. The form they gave me to fill out had questions on medications I was on, diseases I had been in recent contact with and, I assume, other questions. I was stopped and told I couldn't donate due to the various 'yes' answers I'd made. Among the multiple reasons I was turned down was medication for regular migraines and arthritis. I tried three more times over the next few years with similar results so have never given blood. My sister was indeed called out a few times, but due to age, various conditions and regular medications is no longer eligible.

I assume???? I'm an equally rare blood type as my sister, but have no way of knowing if this is the case.

 

[IncoherentJeff]

Did you try to drop into a mobile session or at a local hospital with a Donor centre?

I find hospitals with a Donor Centre are much more accommodating for people dropping in rather than the mobile ones which get booked up quickly. Sadly my nearest is now Stoke, they build a huge new hospital in Derby a few years ago & didn't include a donor centre! So I now have to book in to the local ones.

What's worst is I started donating blood in Scotland, then moved down south to be told that doesn't count and I'd have to start again & complete another new starters paperwork pack. Why the NHS Scotland and NHS (Eng & Wales) can't talk to each other is beyond me!

 

[ScotiaLass]

I've never been able to donate.
I've had severe anaemia since I was 19, requiring iron injections, as I don't absorb ingested iron.
Since then I've had an emergency blood transfusion (another no-no for donating) so I can never donate now.
My dad has a rare blood type but couldn't donate either due to contracting malaria when he served in Borneo.

If I was faced with those waiting times I'd walk too.
The NHS is going downhill fast

 

[Hacienda71]

Useless blood donor fact for the day , gleaned from a horrible histories book I was reading with my son the other night. During the Second World War there was an oversupply of blood donations and the government seriously considered using the excess to make black pudding and feed it to the general population. Fortunately the idea was rejected.

 

[Roadrider48]

It's like a lot of things that start out saying that they are grateful for our help and please and Thankyou and all that.
But due to financial and staff cuts over the years it results in kind volunteers and the like being shafted and just used as a commodity.

 

[IncoherentJeff]

I assume???? I'm an equally rare blood type as my sister, but have no way of knowing if this is the case.

That's a shame you weren't allowed to donate.

O- can be given to anyone in an emergency but I understand it's best practice to give you the matching blood type to your own where possible. However if your O- then you can only be given O-, with the other blood groups there's a couple of options.

You could be the same blood group as your sister.
Each person has two genes for blood type, one is inherited from each parent.

• If both parents are type O (OO) then all children will be type O (OO).
• If one parent is type O (OO) and the other is A (AO) or B (BO) then any children have a 1/2 chance of being type O (OO).
• If parents are are both A (AO) or B(BO) or one of each (AO + BO) then their is a 1/4 chance of each child being O (OO).
• If either parent is A (AA) or B (BB) then then can't have a type O (OO) child*.

Then it gets a little bit more complex when you add in the rhesus factor +/-.

*there are rare genetic occurrences where you can have an entirely different blood to those normally possible from your parents.

 

[I like Skol]

It's really frustrating and a shame really. I know if I or my family were ever to need blood for any reason (I guess I am a likely candidate myself due to my cycling and motorsport hobbies) I would be disappointed if the blood supply wasn't there. Equally, I would hope the situation would be the same for anyone else in need. That's why I have been a donor, because I'm healthy and I can and I always hope there's plenty of others that feel the same way, it's how the system works.

As has been suggested, the donor system now seems to be taking the p!ss and treating the donors like a commodity.

Just to rub salt in the wound I've just spoted a text on my phone from 9am this morning. It's the blood service encouraging me to attend the session as a drop-in donor!!! You couldn't make it up, they are booked up and over subscribed but still using resources to encourage more people to make wasted visits!