Give Blood

[RacersEdge]

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I fully support giving blood and do at least once a year, but this has me feeling not so good about it.

The Blood Brokers-How the Gift of Life Became a Billion Dollar Business

Interesting read, although it doesn't dissuade me from giving, because in the end, lives are still being saved by people donating blood.

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That was an interesting read and may explain the relentless telemarketing I get from my local blood bank.

I'm an irregular donator who gives maybe once a year. For the past six months or so, the blood bank has aggressively campaigned to get me in more often. They normally call twice a day. Some days they call as often as four times. (I know this due to caller ID.) I've asked them to stop, a request which they blow off.

While I don't normally answer when they call, the call volume has become quite a nuisance. Without exaggeration, I imagine they've called my house roughly 400 times in the previous six months. The few times I've answered (to beg them to stop calling) the caller makes every attempt to schedule me. I imagine the callers are getting spiffed or compensated somehow for appointments made.

In short, donating blood is a good thing, but dealing with the blood bank has become a burden.

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Wow, that's amazing. 4 calls a day? Obviously they get paid by number of appoitments they set, but that's way over the line. After dropping a few F-bombs on the telemarketer, I would call the Blood Bank and let them now that their tactics might be driving people away from giving.

[kidcolin]

We must have a blood drive at work at least 4 times a year, and it feels like more than that. I think it gets a pretty solid turnout each time, too. I think it's pretty cool.

[RaptorChrist]

F*** OOT

[XXXNoahXXX]

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From the american red cross:
Why doesn't the Red Cross pay its blood donors to increase the blood supply?
Scientific data shows that people who donate blood for altruistic reasons are the safest blood donors. As an extra layer of safety to the blood supply, Red Cross accepts only volunteer blood donors.

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this is hilarious. you can aaaalmost find yourself nodding saying , yeah makes sense since druggies and stuff would sell blood get fix then try to sell again elsewhere. then you realize theyre FOS.

[JackWilson]

Oh [censored] them, they don't want my blood.

[danvh]

I give once every 2 months or so. Am actually giving tommorow. It takes like 20 min total and in my mind in cancels out some not great things I have done. Plus its a lot cheaper to get drunk that night..

Ohh and the Red Cross does suck about calling. Once the 56 days is up, I get a like a call every day or so trying to get me to make an appointment..

[EYEWHITES]

how much money do they give you for donating?
if you have a rare blood type do they give you more?


i have never given blood but my friends use to sell plasma for beer money...is that what you get paid for selling or is it blood?

i have o+ is that rare, i know it sucks if i need a transfusion, but if i could get 40bucks i would probably do it

[Klompy]

Looking at this picture bothers the hell out of me for some reason. I HATE neadles, and yet I used to donate (sell) my plasma all the time when I was a broke college student. I had some pretty bad experiences while donating plasma, and really don't want anymore neadles going into my arm.

[Dan.]

For those of you saying to pay blood donors, this is addressed in Freakanomics. The end result is that paying a small premium to blood donors actually decreased the number of donors than compared to voluntary donation. The likely reason being that it turns an otherwise altruistic act into a easy way to make a cheap buck.

FWIW, I donate all the time and encourage others to as well.