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Original poster

Giving Blood - next available apt 84 days....

102 replies

SussexBonfireViking · 03/08/2018 11:54

If we are so short on supplies of blood, then why are there no appoints before 84 days? I had to miss my last appointment as they changed the requirements on where i had been overseas, (told me at my appointment, but not a problem) so i could rebook from the next week - but i tried to rebook and the next appointment near where i live (or work) is not til october (my cancelled one was in July)

i know nhs funds are tight, but i dont like being made to feel guilty for not giving blood, when its not actually possible

OP posts:
DGRossetti · 03/08/2018 13:20

I always book the next appointment at the last (if that makes sense).

Currently I donate twice a year, as it's a "double donation" which eases things.

They're very coy about their stats, but I suspect they'll start to lose donors, as no one DS knows gives. And he stopped after being messed around.

OrchidInTheSun · 03/08/2018 13:26

There's a permanent donation centre in Margaret St, just behind Oxford Circus gorillagirl. You can usually get an appt within the week there

DGRossetti · 03/08/2018 13:28

There's a permanent donation centre in Margaret St, just behind Oxford Circus gorillagirl. You can usually get an appt within the week there

Far cry from they days when everyone just turned up ...

mavydoes · 03/08/2018 13:31

Oft!

We have walk in clinics for blood donors in most main cities and smaller centers/pop up cinics for smaller towns etc.

only time i would need to make an appointment was for first time/just after childbirth/surgery or Plasma donations which take longer.

NHS england sounds crazy cut back!

ChanandlerBongsNeighbour · 03/08/2018 13:32

I made my first ever donation appt just a few weeks ago, for October 16th! Nothing available sooner that I could travel to!

Piffle11 · 03/08/2018 13:35

The problems I've had with trying to donate are more to do with the timings of appointments: I'm in a rather rural location and although there seems to be plenty of places i could travel to, all of them start at 2pm and go on til around 7pm. Due to childcare I can't be seen later than 2:20pm in order to be able to travel back to pick up DC from school (DH works most evenings too). Getting one of the slots between 2-2:20pm is nigh on impossible. Even when I've booked for the next donation straight after donating I've found that there is no suitable slot. I used to go to a great session about 20 mins away but they stopped it.

UpstartCrow · 03/08/2018 13:38

Because austerity and NHS cuts.

Why is anyone surprised? What did people think austerity would mean when they voted for it?

ALongHardWinter · 03/08/2018 14:05

I've had this. I registered as a donor about 3 years ago,but I've yet to donate any! Whenever there's a session at a place near me,I haven't been able to get an appointment,unless it's at 9am in the morning,which I can't do as I won't travel on public transport during peak hours due to being disabled. But still they keep sending me emails,letters and texts,urging me to donate. Well,I would,if they made it a little easier to do so.

NameChangeUni · 03/08/2018 14:16

Definitely agree that some NHS blood & transplant staff are vile and essentially behave like they are doing you a massive favour by taking your blood Confused

DGRossetti · 03/08/2018 14:24

Definitely agree that some NHS blood & transplant staff are vile and essentially behave like they are doing you a massive favour by taking your blood

You should speak to the managers then ... they're full of corporate BS speak.

AgathaMystery · 03/08/2018 14:27

I am A+ & the last 2 appts I have attended I was turned away as they didn't need the blood. No text, no phone call, nothing. Just wasting my time.

I have also (before this) tried to donate by dropping in & was told they prioritise those slots for 1st time donors. Donors like me who have gifted 29 times are not a priority.

Hmm

I don't know what changed. I used to donate 3 times a year with no issues.

Returnofthesmileybar · 03/08/2018 14:35

No wonder they run short of blood, some of these stories are horrible, makes you wonder why anyone bothers.

I have donated a few times, I always get a text after to thank me and last time I got a text to tell me when my blood was dispatched and to what hospital, which I thought was a fantastic service. They are always really appreciative too on the day

LittleDoritt · 03/08/2018 14:45

I was ranting about this on FB the other day. I had to cancel my appointment as my DD had scarlet fever so they didn't want me, and the next available appointment was... I shit you not.... April. It's a total farce.

OrchidInTheSun · 03/08/2018 14:47

They're always really nice to me. But then I don't treat them like it's their fault that half the team has been cut and that they're covering an area 3 times the size of the one they covered 2 years' previously

PrivateDoor · 03/08/2018 14:48

I completely agree, it is definitely getting more difficult! I am O- so they regularly would ring and text me asking me to donate as they really need the blood. I turn up and then am asked to wait 2-3 hours as they are very busy. Sometimes I just do not have the time to do this! It used to be in and out within an hour at most. I definitely have noticed the staff are a lot less pleasant too, I expect they are understaffed, stressed and fed up with the public complaining about waiting times!

DGRossetti · 03/08/2018 14:56

I have also (before this) tried to donate by dropping in & was told they prioritise those slots for 1st time donors.

Whereas they turned DS away when he wanted to drop in (for his first appointment) saying that walkins are reserved for existing donors.

Hanlons razor, but this is what happens when you teach "management" rather than nurture it organically. Bear in mind there is a serious piece of research the NBTS did on "do we need donors at all ?" which was the output of a thinktank after a 3 day "groupthink" that needed to go to Florida for some reason.

DGRossetti · 03/08/2018 14:59

makes you wonder why anyone bothers.

Because it matters.

cadburyegg · 03/08/2018 15:15

Wow at some of these stories. I haven’t donated for a long time due to having had 3 pregnancies in the last 4 years, and also no available appointments at convenient times. There is a centre at the nearest hospital but parking is a huge problem there. Plus my iron levels are always borderline so whilst I’m running around after kids I need my blood for myself!

Onegative · 03/08/2018 15:32

Just to prove the point, I Facebooked this thread to NBST, and they replied with a stock "how to donate" speil, showing (a) they hadn't read it, and (b) they have no intention of. Way to go, guys Smile

itbemay · 03/08/2018 15:38

The blood donor service is on its knees here in London, last appointment I had I waited 1hour and 45mins to start the process! ridiculous, and same as OP couldn't book next appointment as all slots taken, tried to use online booking but as I live close the river it kept offering me appointments across the river - so shortest distance but you'd need a boat!, rang the number to book and they use the same system... sadly gave up in end.

thecapitalsunited · 03/08/2018 15:39

I gave last week and my next appointment is Xmas Eve. Even the staff couldn’t believe they wouldn’t be back before then. I think some of the issue is scheduling - they try to be round every 12 weeks or so because men can give that often but women have to wait 16 weeks which pushes us back a session.

Loonoon · 03/08/2018 15:47

I cannot book 6 months in advance as I travel a lot and can’t be sure I’ll be available. If I try and book about 4/ 6 weeks ahead it’s always fully booked - even when they have sent me an email requesting I attend that session!! I cannot walk in as they are always fully booked locally.

DFIL died in a major London hospital last year. After viewing his body DCs and I decided to visit the on-site blood clinic to all donate in his memory - only it was closed during its advertised opening hours with no sign or indication as to when it would reopen.

Giving blood matters to me - I want to do it. My grandad and dad both did it their entire lives. I did it for the first time on my eighteenth birthday and then regularly for decades but nowadays it is so hard to actually do it I’ve pretty much given up.

starfishmummy · 03/08/2018 16:05

I used to give years ago, and once I called about eligibility after being ill and they were so rude to me I never went back. Since then I've had a transfusion so can no longer donate.

FuzzyCustard · 03/08/2018 18:56

I've had success just walking in and asking if they can take blood the same day. Usually been seen within 15 mins. It is a large hospital though, and I go when they first open in the morning

this would be good and i would be happy to do this, but the nearest big hospital is either half an hour by car (in the op direction to work) or half an hour + with no parking.. i cant really take that risk on the off chance they might be able to do it.

My nearest big hospital is an hour and a quarter's drive away. I've gone to the walk in centre while waiting for my DH to have his bloods done and see the haem/onc Dr. He has had so many blood and platelet transfusions through having blood cancer that it seems like a reasonable payback for me to give blood! Incidentally, they have recently changed the rules so women can only give every 16 weeks, whereas men can donate every 12 weeks.

happinessiseggshaped · 03/08/2018 19:13

DH tries to give blood regularly but similar story that it’s hard to get an appointment. Last time he did go after work he waited well over an hour just to be seen. He does it because he had emergency surgery once, luckily didn’t need blood but easily could have done. However it is becoming increasingly difficult, and he works in a city (that also serves a big rural area, nothing around for miles!) so you would expect them to maintain a decent service there.