One Blood Rewards

[Taltarzac725]

https://www.oneblood.org/rewards/

I heard a rumor that they will not be giving out these Rewards at the Villages Blood Donation Center.

Maybe, if enough of us speak out about this-- if this is true-- that they will bring back the rewards.

You get to pick from a dozen or so gift card selections-- Amazon. com, Barnes and Noble.com, Wal-Mart, and a variety of restaurants and a Tire/Garage, etc. for donating whole blood, platelets, etc.

I did get a $20 gift card for donating on 12/28/2015 but hear that our Villages donation center is going to various kinds of gifts like a fleece blanket this month.

[leftyf]

Just wait until you get the blanket.

[Taltarzac725]

Just wait until you get the blanket.

Maybe, it is a very nice blanket?

[leftyf]

No, very thin and cheap. The printing on it cost more than the blanket. I have 2 more appointments scheduled for January, thinking of cancelling them and waiting to see what Feb brings. Why do I need 3 cheap blankets?

[Taltarzac725]

No, very thin and cheap. The printing on it cost more than the blanket. I have 2 more appointments scheduled for January, thinking of cancelling them and waiting to see what Feb brings. Why do I need 3 cheap blankets?

There are some movies in their collection I have not seen yet, so I will make the two appointments I have this month-- January unless I get a cold or something.

I do wish there were giving the Gift Cards. I wonder what the management's reasoning is for doing this? It would seem to make donating blood a lot less attractive if they stopped giving the Gift Cards.

[springfield]

I just gave platelets. I got a $10 gift card and the blanket which was nice but not why I gave. As a cancer survivor, I am very very happy to donate to help those dealing with chemo.

[Taltarzac725]

I just gave platelets. I got a $10 gift card and the blanket which was nice but not why I gave. As a cancer survivor, I am very very happy to donate to help those dealing with chemo.

Well, the rewards do enter into my decisions of when and where to give but it is about helping other people in the end.

I am glad that you got a blanket and a gift card as I am set to donate platelets-- which usually means I am immobile for 2 hours or more-- next week. Then I have another donation two weeks after that of platelets, and another platelet donation four weeks after in February.

I am hoping to get some Whole Blood donations in during 2016 too because I like the Villages' movie tickets they often offer.

Hopefully, I can get to this one as they often have hamburgers and/or hot dogs available and you get to look around the Fire Station--

02/11/2016

The Villages Parrot Head Club
The Villages Public Safety Department - Station 44
3035 Morse Boulevard
The Villages, FL 32163

[Bosoxfan]

No, very thin and cheap. The printing on it cost more than the blanket. I have 2 more appointments scheduled for January, thinking of cancelling them and waiting to see what Feb brings. Why do I need 3 cheap blankets?

You don't need the blankets then why take them? I got my blanket this past Monday. I'll probably have 2 more platelet donations this month and don't intend on taking the blankets just because they're offered. I'm disappointed in the stop in the rewards so I will be calling the number Mary gave me to voice my disappointment.

[Taltarzac725]

I just gave platelets. I got a $10 gift card and the blanket which was nice but not why I gave. As a cancer survivor, I am very very happy to donate to help those dealing with chemo.

It sounds like someone is getting these gift cards???

Do they give platelet donors more than one monthly gift? I gave platelets a few months back twice in a month or so and only received one of their t-shirts. They asked me if I had gotten it all ready and I said "Yes".

It should be interesting to see what happens next week when I give platelets again.

[bagboy]

I guess I am naive. I thought the reason for giving blood was to contribute to society and provide something that would ultimately help a fellow human being in their time of need. My wife donated blood over 200 times during her state employment. I just asked her what she received for donating blood... I got a blank stare and then her reply was a cookie and cup of juice.
It's disturbing to me that in order to do good, one needs compensation.

[Walt.]

I guess I am naive. I thought the reason for giving blood was to contribute to society and provide something that would ultimately help a fellow human being in their time of need. My wife donated blood over 200 times during her state employment. I just asked her what she received for donating blood... I got a blank stare and then her reply was a cookie and cup of juice.
It's disturbing to me that in order to do good, one needs compensation.

Do you think that the people you are donating to are not selling it? Several years ago I read that the Red Cross charged our military $250 a pint.

Red Cross (http://www.propublica.org/article/red-cross-latest-claim-includes-donations-in-blood)

[CWGUY]

I guess I am naive. I thought the reason for giving blood was to contribute to society and provide something that would ultimately help a fellow human being in their time of need. My wife donated blood over 200 times during her state employment. I just asked her what she received for donating blood... I got a blank stare and then her reply was a cookie and cup of juice.
It's disturbing to me that in order to do good, one needs compensation.

:thumbup: I agree!

[Taltarzac725]

I guess I am naive. I thought the reason for giving blood was to contribute to society and provide something that would ultimately help a fellow human being in their time of need. My wife donated blood over 200 times during her state employment. I just asked her what she received for donating blood... I got a blank stare and then her reply was a cookie and cup of juice.
It's disturbing to me that in order to do good, one needs compensation.

Good for your wife. I donated a few times back in the 1980s and do not remember receiving anything. Many of the blood banks now around the country offer some kind of rewards for donating. I do not know about the Red Cross but many of the other companies I having looked up on the Internet do give various kinds of awards.

It looks like the Red Cross too offers rewards. Red Cross launches app for blood donors - Mobile Commerce Daily - Applications (http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/red-cross-launches-app-for-blood-donors)

SF Bay Area Blood Donor rewards-- Blood Centers of the Pacific | Find the hero in you. (http://www.bloodcenters.org/) https://www.bloodheroes.com/index.cfm?Group=points&Function=redeem

KARE 11 Blood Drive | American Red Cross (http://www.redcrossblood.org/promotions/northcentral/kare-11-blood-drive-3)

[leftyf]

I have donated for over 40 years, but whole blood only and on a Red Cross bus in MI. Since moving here, blood seems to be a money maker because in MI where I came from, the Red Cross didn't have the fancy places to donate like One Blood does. My thoughts are, IF One Blood is going to spend money on rewards, spend it on something useful. Platelet donors are a lot more dedicated than a whole blood donor, we donate 22 times a year and each donation takes about 2 1/2 hours. Whole blood donations take only about 30 minutes including the time to fill out the paperwork and you only donate 6 times a year. A very big difference.

[Taltarzac725]

I have donated for over 40 years, but whole blood only and on a Red Cross bus in MI. Since moving here, blood seems to be a money maker because in MI where I came from, the Red Cross didn't have the fancy places to donate like One Blood does. My thoughts are, IF One Blood is going to spend money on rewards, spend it on something useful. Platelet donors are a lot more dedicated than a whole blood donor, we donate 22 times a year and each donation takes about 2 1/2 hours. Whole blood donations take only about 30 minutes including the time to fill out the paperwork and you only donate 6 times a year. A very big difference.

Platelet donating is kind of an ordeal. I do not see people doing this unless they really care about helping others. My blood type is AB- and that is what they usually want to me to do whenever I come into donate. The blood mobiles I went to in the Tampa Bay area were not equipped to deal with people giving platelet donations that I remember so I just gave whole blood while on these and always got some kind of rewards usually movie tickets or coupons for free movies at Hollywood Video.

[Walt.]

I've really never heard of platelet donations. What exactly is it?

[bagboy]

I'll step back to a point. Blood donations are not donations if there is compensation. That said, if there has to be awards or payments in order to get the necessary blood, then so be it. And my thanks to everyone who gives blood or platelets.
And maybe I'm not as naive as I suggested. I know blood is bought and sold in various ways. I guess that's a necessity, but I don't have to like it or agree with it.

[Polar Bear]

...Blood donations are not donations if there is compensation...

Don't agree at all.

I think the 'rewards' are just a natural way to get folks' attention. The folks who give are doing a good thing...and yes, making a donation...even if they get a small gift in return.

[Sandtrap328]

Don't agree at all.

I think the 'rewards' are just a natural way to get folks' attention. The folks who give are doing a good thing...and yes, making a donation...even if they get a small gift in return.

A "reward" of a $5 gift card, a movie pass, or a t-shirt is certainly not payment for a pint of blood. Even here in The Villages, no one is going to take a couple of hours of their time, give blood, and do it just for the very nominal gift.

I sincerely believe that anyone who contributes a pint of blood or platelets does it for the express purpose of doing good for another human.

[leftyf]

Oh, believe me, If I could donate platelets to a particular person that needed them and they were not charged, that's how I would do it. Unfortunately, nobody gets blood or platelets for free.

Anybody that doesn't know what a platelet donation is should go to the One Blood center and watch. Or better yet, be there Fri the 15th at 10:00 AM and watch me donate.

[Taltarzac725]

I've really never heard of platelet donations. What exactly is it?


This YouTube about platelet donations for soldiers/airmen/marines/SEALS/etc. in Afghanistan explains this type of donation. I believe AB- is a universal donor for platelets. I can give to anyone as far as platelets are concerned. https://youtu.be/NAKSVeBvpvY

How To Target Type AB- - Donate Blood (http://www.oneblood.org/target-your-type/ab-negative.stml)

[Bosoxfan]

I'm B+ and have been asked to donate platelets instead of whole blood.My reason for donating is I escaped my past without any physical problems.My way of showing gratitude by giving to those in need..

[terimquick]

I totally agree, bagboy. I gave blood for many years in Nebraska and never received any "gift", nor did I expect to. My gift is knowing that my blood is helping someone who needs it.

[terimquick]

Also agree that you don't have to take the gifts from One Blood if you don't want/need them.

[Polar Bear]

A "reward" of a $5 gift card, a movie pass, or a t-shirt is certainly not payment for a pint of blood. Even here in The Villages, no one is going to take a couple of hours of their time, give blood, and do it just for the very nominal gift.

I sincerely believe that anyone who contributes a pint of blood or platelets does it for the express purpose of doing good for another human.

There ya go!