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?

My village used to have donation sessions but they stopped last year and the two nearest permanent centres are both in city centres where i'd have to pay for parking.

So now I have to take whatever appointments i can get at either of the 3 other locations, all 15 minutes drive away but with free parking. I always book online. Last week i managed to change a late afternoon appointment to lunchtime a few days before (which was very unusual). I guess someone had cancelled and i just managed to get in there.

I do wish there was some way of logging overseas travel on my online account though. At one appointment last year it took longer for them to go through my travel than it did for me to donate!!!

I've told this on here before but the Head of NHS Blood and Transplant was chatting to donors at a session I went to some months back. Due to costs they are moving to fixed donor sites so there will be fewer mobile sessions. I do think people should cancel rather than just not showing up as others could fill some of those spaces.
I used to donate at a Premiership football ground but the club charged them a hefty fee to use the space. Also no walk ins allowed for security reasons.
Personally I find the fixed sites better for getting appointments but if you're away from a major town or city not so good.

I haven't rtfs, but my experiences are the same as PPs. Once you cancel your slot that you booked 4 months previously for any reason it's nigh on impossible to get a reasonable slot again. I only have a pop-up service and I've kind of given up after about 35 years loyal service.

My feeling is they do want and need donors but they're not making it easy for some, to me unknown, reason

I tried to donate recently on a rare day off.

First my iron levels were a problem, so they did extra tests to discover that actually my iron was fine. But then they refused to take blood because they couldn’t see a good vein. Wouldn’t have minded but then I got a massive lecture on drinking enough in advance, when I’d actually drunk so much I was probably at risk of water poisoning!

It also took a while to work out they weren’t going to take any blood - clear communication was not their forte.

Going through my travel history was also a chore since I’ve been all over.

Didn’t much appreciate the experience all told. Not planning to return.

All in all it was a rubbish experience and I

Think they could do much better!

Yes I've had pretty much the same experience. I don't want to make an appointment 4 months ahead when I haven't got a clue what I'll be doing. I'm due now to donate again but there's no appointments for months and you can't walk in. They are always very busy so it seems like they need to do longer hours or come more frequently. Even if you could book a month ahead that would be preferable.

Surely you book a dentist for example 3, 4 or 6 months in advance.
I dont understand the problem with booking your donation 3 or 4 months in advance.

Not everyone plans their life months in advance. I book my dental appointments maybe 2/3 weeks in advance.

Having to book a blood donor appointment months in advance is the main reason why I don't go, and yes I do feel incredibly guilty about it.

If I book an appointment that far in advance it will almost certainly be inconvenient when the time comes and I'll end up rearranging it because I will be too busy at work, have a meeting at work, be on holiday, ill, not be able to get to wherever it is or whatever.

I would like to be able to think, 'I've got a bit of free time in a couple of days/next week, so I'll go and give blood'.

I used to give blood regularly but tbh i have given up now.
The last 2 appointments i have had were cancelled by text as i was on the way to donate, no explanation, nothing. I am one of those people who make sure they have a good meal a few hours before donating and a lot of water in the 24 hours beforehand. I don't exercise the day i donate too, in other words it does require a bit of adjustment.

The only way to get an appointment is to book in months in advance.

Seems crazy when there is an apparent shortage. I am a blood type they're often short of too.

The blood service is going to start bleating that people aren’t donating as much as they used to / when they have caused the reduction by changing the system to make if difficult.

They've stopped doing that in our area, you get told to book your own online now.

Ah, but you can't for double donations ....

I've never booked dentist, optician etc months in advance, I wait till I get a reminder then book, usually for the following week. To be fair, booking blood donation 4 months ahead is usually ok for me but there have been times when I've had to cancel due to having a cold or similar (I've been a donor for many years) and would be fine the following week but then I have to wait four months again. Frustrating.

There are some nonsensical rules. I have acupuncture with a BMAS-qualified acupuncturist of 25 years' experience. She uses sealed, fresh needles on each patient and throws them away at the end of the session and obviously washes her hands in between patients.

Because she is not working within the NHS, I cannot give blood for four months. But I could if the less-qualified (in terms of acupuncuture) physio or midwife was doing the acupuncture within the NHS.

So that's a whole year I haven't been able to give blood. I've had a bit of a break and calculate that I can give blood in January before I start again. I am O positive, so quite a useful donor according to the NHS:

'the largest blood type in the donor population and we need to collect a lot. Donations from this group can help treat Rh positive patients of all ABO groups meaning that donors with this blood type can potentially treat an amazing three out of four patients.'

This is a timely thread as I had a letter through this morning cancelling the appointment that I very carefully went away and booked online after my last donation. Apparently they've reviewed their policy recently and my booking was too soon after the previous donation - despite being a full 16 weeks. Who knows?

And sent you a letter! Rather than a text or email?

That's even dottier.

Yep, a letter. Which actually arrived three days ago and I only saw because I was sorting through our letter rack. Very odd, and gives no indication a) what the new policy actually consists of now, and/or b) when I am eligible to give again. Which doesn't really help me in terms of making a new appointment which does meet their policies!

I don't book the dentist months in advance either . I get a reminder, phone and the appointment is within a couple of weeks at the most

I know its a different organisation (i think anyway) but ive never had any issues donating in Scotland...

I do live in a big city that has a permanent centre, but ive never not been able to get an appointment, either walking in, or booking for the following day. Centre is open till 7pm for at least a few nights each week, so pretty handy for finishing work.

I'm in Scotland and the permanent one is 30 miles away and the smaller ones don't have sessions until january

LB0CS2 Me too - the letter came over the weekend. I've not looked yet to see when the next appointments are. To be honest, it works for me booking ahead, but the issue is when you have to cancel for any reason, you then can't get an appointment for weeks. It's bound to put many people off.

I’m a housewife. So according to many on here I should be able to donate easily but I cant. I drop the children at 9 and need pick up at 3. So I need an appointment between 9 and 2. Nope doesn’t exist. I haven’t donated since having children. So 9 years.

I’m in full agreement with so many of you!! My last two appts were particularly difficult - one got cancelled (by text) at the last minute after several texts in the days leading up to it exhorting me to remember to go!!!!

Then my second one - despite being booked ran several hours late - to the point where I was starting to worry about picking DD up from after school club.

And I’ve been donating for years, but now...? I’m far less inclined the Blood Service needs to read this thread!

i was the same as the majority of posters.
wanted a walk in clinic.
but persuaded by a thread on mumsnet in MArch, i booked, 4 months later i donated blood,
another 4 months later, donated again,
i have again booked,4 months in advance.
It can be done, if you want it.
and mrs pear, can you donate in the school holidays?

I worked for a large company in London- a mobile van would come and people would pop down in a free 5 mins and give blood. they would get loads. Then it became cost ineffective, so they lost 400ish regular donors (too far to travel, so could not be done in working hours)

In Australia- same thing. I worked at a manufacturing plant with lots of fit healthy people all wanting to donate. They did away with the mobile units and hardly anyone donates from that plant. Yet on the news they are always 'crying out for blood' - obviously not that hard as they could easily get several 100 pints in one sitting, if they kept the mobile vans.

I signed up to give at 31, was told "ooh nice blood group". I then get diagnosed with M.E and told they cannot allow me to donate as they don't know if it can be transferred in blood. Wouldn't take me now anyway (pancreatitis attack's), but really annoyed me.

My local city has a centre, but it's only used a few (under 5) days a month now. When I signed up it was running 21/30. Very scary for blood supply in a few decades.