Soooooo I used to donate pretty regularly in college, but it's been a while (let's say 2 years so I don't age myself too much). Anyhoo, I really wanted to try to start donating again. While research is mixed as to whether or not it has any health benefits, there is one thing we know for sure: It won't hurt you.
I called to make a first time donor appointment. Apparently they don't take appointments....it's first come first serve. She suggested I come in any day of the week by 0650 to secure one of the first spots. No problem I guess. I set my alarm, downed a bottle of water, grabbed a protein bar and I was on my way! Got there at 0645, thinking I would be one of the first ones.
Boy was I wrong.
The waiting room was already more than half full.
I stood in the one and only line, signed my name and took a seat. Twenty five minutes later they called me. Yay!
Not so much.
I was told I signed the wrong sign in sheet. I had to resign on the "new donor" sheet instead. Fine. Done. She made it sound like they would call me next since I had already been waiting for a while and no one was around while I was in line to offer assistance.
So I waited. For another 40 minutes. Nothing happened. Apparently I got moved back to the bottom of the entire list. So I just left.
Oh and the gentleman next to me told me that he was in the day before. After waiting for two hours, they informed him they didn't have time to take him and told him to come back another day. So there he was again. Seems like a pretty unorganized system. I'm still interested in donating, but I'll look for a place where I can make an appointment and not have to spend an entire day.