Giving blood. Why is it so hard to find an appointment?

[TheVortex]

Reading this today
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-46220676

I don't agree that anyone should be paid to give blood personally. However it seems really hard to actually do it!

When there are blood shortages, I want to give blood, but around here, finding an appointment is really difficult. Walk in slots don't seem to exist in most places anymore

I'm in the south. Wondering if there are areas where fewer people donate ? Or is it that the donation services can't keep up?

I find it's ok if I rebook straight after my last donation (although you can't do it at the end of the session any more, which is annoying). But if I have to cancel for any reason it's very hard to get an appointment less than 4 months away. There are only two places I can get to without considerable inconvenience and both only have one session a month at the most, it is tricky.

I found it nigh on impossible to get appointments at the "pop up" donor sessions - the ones that set up for a day in a community hall. Luckily, we have a permanent centre in the city centre that has sessions every Saturday and its very easy to get an appointment with a weeks notice.

Not heard of the permanent centres. It's a great idea. Wonder how many there are around UK

I think re booking immediately gets you into the system and then it's ok. I've had a break due to illness and so it's hard to get back into the process.

I too find it very hard especially since they changed all our sessions into fewer, bigger ones. I have to travel around 6 miles to my closest one and now they've handily booked the sessions 15 weeks apart when women can only donate every 16 weeks. Useful. Especially when I'm one of those who gets targeted texts for my blood group.

I have been trying to get in to donate since July. Next appointment I could get is January, which I booked about 2 months ago. They closed the location I used to use, and all the others locally are full to capacity. They keep ringing me, asking me to donate, but cannot find a time/date/location that I can do.

They want people to donate, but they don't have useful slots for working people!

My nearest permanent centre is 40 miles away in a city I virtually never go to so not much use to me.

I can't do it anymore , but I used to find it so hard to make an appt it felt like the universe was against me trying to give blood!

Having been a blood donor since 1984, it seems obvious that they've managed to get a management team who are managing for the management team, not the staff, and certainly not the donors.

You'll probably find they're winning awards all over the place too.

Last few times I've been, there were no donors that looked under 30. I know DS has given up trying to give, so that's one younger donor gone.

Tis a pain in the backside. The Blood Service is understaffed and overstretched. The nearest permanent centre to me is in city centre Manchester so no use to me at all.

And yes, I agree with a pp - if you work full time there is very little availability of appointments. It's not something you can do in your lunch break either as they frequently don't run to schedule for various reasons.

I imagine those of working age try to go in the evening, I have Monday off and am surrounded by other females, mostly older, but does age matter for blood donation, do they specifically want under 30s?

this drives me insane! i constantly get letters asking me to donate and then i can never ever get an appointment! a few years ago there was a place that was open every other sunday and you could just walk in but now you have to book an appointment about three months in advance. i can see why people don’t donate when it’s such a bloody palova!

Does it matter if the appointment offered is 4 months away? Just book it

BBC article mentions lots of people cancelling in the run up to Christmas.

If those appointments could be advertised locally it could be really helpful but probably admin step too far.

but does age matter for blood donation, do they specifically want under 30s?

Well they won't take it after 70, and if there are few donors under 30, what will happen in 40 years time ? One thing you'd think they'd know (but don't, I've had a couple of chats with the management team) is that being a blood donor tends to be something that is started when young (like me) and carries on (like me). For every year over 17, it becomes a little harder to get people to sign up. By the time you've got to 30, it's nigh on impossible. As folk here are noting, by the time you're working with commitments, finding time from the very few slots available simply isn't a priority.

I'm sure we can always import blood from other countries if it gets desperate ....

Presumably it could also be because people are ill so can't donate? And it says the new donor process is too long, so they only want repeat donors in December. It took me years to finally get onto the system, turned away for seemingly very minor reasons (eg on reflux medication, turned down until a doctor confirmed to me I was ok to donate and didn't have an ulcer).

I'm happily now in the system and gave blood last week. Signed up to the next time they're in my village, in 4 months' time. If I don't book that far in advance, there are no slots available.

I think any age group can be persuaded, I did donate when 18 and then when 23 but then had a 30 year lapse

It is an NHS service so presumably has had many cut backs

I think any age group can be persuaded, I did donate when 18 and then when 23 but then had a 30 year lapse

So you weren't a new donor at 53.

I also think any age group can be de-persuaded. Having gone with me to give blood since he could walk, DS was really keen to donate. Come his first attempt, and they turned him away because he hadn't got an appointment (this was when they still pretended you could walk in). Took 2 years after that to persuade him to go. The second time after that they messed up the appointment, turned him away, and won't see him again. Not that it's stopped them spamming him on Facebook to pop in.

I'd give up myself, but where else will I get O -ve if I need it ?

I've tried a walk in appointment before and am in Yorkshire. The centre is only there every few months and is jam packed when it is. There are perhaps 10 chairs.

I had a look the other day for appointments and the earliest appointments seemed to be january. I want to give blood now! The nearest permanent one is 30 miles away. I remember a donating bus the last time that parked in the local asda carpark but haven't seen that about for nearly 2 years.

So frustrating. Like so many others, our local session has been moved, in this case to a rural village hall that's tricky to get to without a car. The bus only runs every 2 hours, which can easily mean literally half a day to donate, depending on appointment times and how punctually the service is running. I had to cancel my last appointment because the family car wasn't back in time - I'd booked the last slot of the day so no hope of getting in. There was a plea on local news for donations for my rare-ish blood group, but I can't get an appointment before March.

I used to give blood regularly but I’ve pretty much given up. I can’t book 4 months in advance as I travel a lot so can never be sure I will be available. Nowhere local to me has slots available at 2/3 weeks notice or walk-ins anymore. I used to just turn up but the last two times I tried this I got turned away.
I registered with the online donation service recently and get emails giving me dates to donate in my area. Even if I click on the link the instant I get the message I find all the slots are already taken.

DFIL died at a big hospital recently. The hospital has a permanent donation centre so after viewing his remains my adult children, SIL and I decided to visit the centre and make a donation in his honour. It was shut (at 11.30am on a weekday morning) due to staff shortages.

I want to give blood, it’s a family tradition. It matters to me but it is so hard to do these days.

I haven't given in ages, sadly. Our town used to get regular donation sessions, and you could book your next session there and then right after donating. The local sessions stopped years ago. They still invite me to my nearest one, which would be fine if I drove, but I'd have to first take a train and then walk for quite a distance to get there. I'd get there just fine, but it's the getting back home that's the problem for me, since I do get dizzy and feel faint for the rest of the day after donating, no matter how much I eat and drink.