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| - I got motivated to write this review after finding out Yelp sponsored National Volunteer Blood Donor Month! Yay Yelp! I always try to encourage others to donate. It's really one of the easiest ways to save lives and help others.
This location is set up as their "HQ" for their blood centers. I visit the other locations as well depending on convenience. I have also done their drives they do at school, casinos, etc. This location is my favorite as far as comfort goes, they have more room inside so it's not as cramped and their TVs are hanging from the ceiling so you don't have to hold a little player on your lap.
You sign in at the front desk, appointments are not necessary but recommended. Always remember to bring your card if you have one. They give you a couple sheets to read through while you're waiting to be called back for your interview. Once called back, they go through an interview with a lengthy questionnaire which includes questions about travel, sexual behavior, drug use, general health, and other risk factors like if you've had a tattoo applied in the past year or have been in jail or prison since your last donation. It's like a really bad first date without the cocktails. They also check your iron level, blood pressure, and temperature at that time. They also keep track of your readings and cholestrol online, so you can look it up on their website and see how it's changed during your donations. If everything checks out well, then you're off to donate!
They have different options for donation. You can find out more here:
http://www.unitedbloodservices.org/learnMore.aspx
I usually do pheresis, which takes the longest (about 2 hours for me though times vary per individual). The good news is they have a library of movies to choose from while you are donating pheresis. Or if you want to watch regular TV or read, that's fine too. Just remember, you only have the use of one arm/hand during this time so don't try to crochet or do your taxes during your blood donation. I don't mind when people talk on the phone, but I can tell it bothers other people trying to read or doing something else. This is the perfect time to catch up on movies you've never seen. I always try to pick ones that won't be too weird or awkward, kind of funny having a sex scene from a movie playing while people are walking by thinking you're a big perv. You do get your own set of headphones so you don't bother the people around you with the moaning and screaming.
They always keep the building pretty cold, and I get cold very easily which is weird considering all the fats I have to keep me warm. I usually come pretty layered (even during the summer), but they can provide you with blankets, heating pads, and heat packs. I've noticed the warmer I am, the smoother my donations go.
During the 5-6 years I've been coming here, I've only had one employee that didn't make my experience a great one. That's saying a lot, so they do a good job hiring the right people. I forget a lot of names (you can never see their name tages) and wish I could mention them in this review because they've all been so awesome during my visits. I notice a lot of employees go between offices to cover other people so I'll see different people in most of my visits. I almost always see Myrna (I think?) here who is such a sweetheart and knows what she's doing, I hope she never leaves this place. I make the machine beep a lot of the times, so they are always having to come to my machine to handle it, but they are good at not making me feel like a nuisance.
When you are done, they bandage you up with the color of your choice and tell you no alcohol for the rest of the day/night, no strenuous activities, drink plenty of fluids, make your next meal a hearty one, and if you smoke, you have to wait a little bit before you can light your next one, I forget how long. So basically, be lazy and eat well... no problem! Then you hang out in the snack/refreshment area for 15 minutes. Good selection to choose from, especially if you have a sweet tooth. It's all free, but that doesn't mean you should pig out and stick a bunch of stuff in your bag (yes, I've seen it happen more than once).
You also build up points online with each donation that you can use in their rewards store online with a great selection of things to choose from. When you check out, they give you a nice gift as a thank you. It's usually show tickets, but there's been vouchers for food, movie tickets, and other neat items that I've enjoyed as well. This month, it was a ticket to enter a raffle drawing for a one year lease for a new Dodge Dart. I already purchased my new driving gloves :P
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