Letter to the Central Ohio American Red Cross

To whom it may concern:

I will no longer donate blood to the Central Ohio American Red Cross. This is a difficult thing for me to say, but this decision has not come lightly. I have several reasons, all of which I will explain below.

First, you do not value my time. When I schedule an appointment, I expect that you will be ready for me at, or near, that time. The last time I gave blood, on 2/2/07, my information was not even taken until 45 minutes after my scheduled appointment. It was another 35 minutes until I was actually on a cot. I stuck around because I feel that giving blood is important, and I didn't have anything else on my schedule for that evening. However, waiting that long for an appointment is inexcusable.

Second, you are disorganized. My chosen donation center, the Westerville Community Center, is routinely omitted from the listings on the www.givelife.org website, even when I receive reminders that a blood mobile will be held there on a particular date, and told to register online. Additionally, it is a common occurrence that my wife and I will schedule our appointments early, and then receive phone calls asking us weeks later asking us to schedule an appointment. Also, the registration process routinely takes 15-20 minutes, which is an excessive amount of time, particularly since most of the data entry happens via computer and scanning bar codes.

Third, you canceled an appointment without giving me any warning, and refused to accept my donation, even though I had waited the required 56 days. According to the redcross.org website, "To give blood for transfusion to another person, you must ... not have donated blood in the last 8 weeks (56 days)." My last donation was 2/2/07, but when I arrived today (4/4/07) for the appointment I scheduled during that visit, my appointment was not listed, and when I registered, I was told I had to wait an additional day to give blood, even though it has been 61 days since my last donation. I was never notified that my appointment was canceled, and even when I explained that it had been over 56 days since my last donation, I was not allowed to donate.

I'm sorry that my frustrations have led me to refuse to donate further, particularly since there are constant reminders about blood shortages in the area. However, it is evident to me that while the blood you receive from donors is important to you, the donors themselves are not. The examples I have cited above are representative of my experience with the Central Ohio American Red Cross over the course of the past few years, and simply represent the straw that has broken this camel's back. My patience has run out with you.

Regards,
Thomas Helsel

UPDATE - If you got here from a direct link instead of from the main page, then you might have missed that I got a response from the Red Cross that you might be interested in.