I've been donating blood at the American Red Cross in Duluth for years, and it's always a good experience. The staff is friendly and makes giving away a pint of blood feel like a pretty positive thing! Scheduling is easy through the Red Cross app, and parking is usually a breeze. Quick Sunday tip: the lot may look full or blocked because of nearby church parking, but just tell the traffic attendants you're there to donate blood and they'll point you in the right direction. One donation can help save up to three lives--so roll up your sleeve and be a hero for about an hour! read more

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A+. Happy faces & atmosphere. Friendly, clean & comfortable. Long time donor. Recommended

Boy, how I wish I had someone like Joshua present at my first blood donation. Real talk. If I had, it wouldn't have taken me an entire year for my second donation. This young man made an experience that can be daunting at times uplifting. Joshua greeted me with open arms, was very professional during the preparation stage for my blood donation, and he made sure the entire process was a success. We need more American Red Cross health professionals like Joshua to ease any anxiety donors, especially first time donors, may have regarding donating blood or platelets. Thank you Joshua for making my donation experience so amazing!!! read more

I have donated blood (8) times. I hate this place. They either leave my arm black and blue by placing the needle in the wrong place, can't find my vein or today where the bag had a kink and the blood was not moving. I could not give blood and have to wait 8 weeks. Today I was a walk-in, waited an hour not to mention it's Sunday and the parking lot was a mess because of church service next door. I've called the Red Cross and they've said to find another blood bank that's not the Red Cross. Today I just did that. The Red Cross has overall bad reviews. I found another bank in Lawrenceville that is closer to home. Stupid Red Cross. read more

I've been donating plasma since contracting Covid in March '20, at first because I felt compelled to help when there were no proven treatments for Covid patients, and recently to continue checking my antibody levels (I've still got them, after 8 months!). I have only been to two different blood donation locations, so my sample for comparison is not huge, but this location seems on par with the other. When you walk in, you're greeted by a couple volunteers, first to check you in, then to help you process your rapidpass if you filled one out. There are several tables in the snack area for relaxing and refilling after your donation; the table offers a selection of Nabisco treats and healthier nut and seed bars. The staff is a mixed bag. The seemingly most senior nurse can be very short with donors. Each time I've interacted with her, she asks to see the email Red Cross sent. I'm sure there's a reason why, but I get an email about every day or two from Red Cross, so I never know which email she wants to see; apparently there was a miscommunication and I was down for a normal plasma donation rather than the convalescent Covid plasma. After looking at a couple emails of mine, she confirmed that I would do convalescent. I think she's been working with patients for a long time that she forgets we're all unique, even if she tends to deal with the same issue over and over again. The nurses I've had getting me settled in and hooking me up are usually very friendly. There's music playing throughout the donation center (good music, in my opinion), and the process has been fairly smooth 2/3 times I've been. The time before last, the IV must have gone through my vein, causing a small hematoma when the blood was being put back in; when the machine beeped, the nurse came over, looked at the IV, then started the machine again. Shortly afterward, it beeped again, and I could see my skin ballooning up, which made me begin to feel nauseous. The nurse came back over, took a look, and said "did you turn your arm?" And I was like "...um...no?" I mean, I was sitting in the same spot as I had been, just watching TV. Then she goes "You turned your arm, you must have, and that's why the needle poked through." I'll admit, it didn't feel great to have her tell me this was my fault, but honestly I started to feel like I was about to faint, I felt warm, and sweat began to bead up on my head. When she realized I was feeling a bit woozy, she relaxed a bit and realized I was just a regular dude and not mad or anything...she was more comforting, saying "sometimes we don't realize we turn our arms, it can happen without us even meaning to." I told her I felt nauseous and she brought a damp towel for my head and put an ice pack on my chest and said just to relax, asked if I needed water or a juice pack, and brought me one. After about 10 minutes, she checked in on me; I was feeling better. She gave me tips for icing the hematoma, which I followed (the bruising lasted for a few weeks, and I do not bruise easily). Things don't always go as planned, and they can't control when patients "turn their arms." I'm not downgrading the business for the experience, just wanted to share that I think the staff can be very chill when things are going smoothly, but can get stressed out easily if they aren't. That said, the most recent time, everything went 100% smoothly, and I even got to make small talk with some folks in the snack area after our donations, something that I've sorely missed during the pandemic. read more

I am a regular blood donor in Philadelphia, but I saw through the Blood Donor app that they were accepting appointments for Thanksgiving day and decided to bring my family. We were able to donate whole blood, platelets, and plasma at this center. From the moment I entered and saw the holiday decor and heard the holiday music I knew this was going to be a special experience. The staff were very friendly and came in at 6 am on a holiday. That just goes to show that there's ALWAYS a need for blood donations. The snack table was also fully stocked with a board above it introducing their staff with their pictures/names. I really enjoyed my entire experience and can't wait to donate at this location again when I'm in town! read more

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Made an appointment through the app after my original appointment for my local blood drive was canceled the morning of. Made a new appointment went to a Red Cross Donation facility to be told the new appointment I made didn't matter because it was made that morning. Clearly someone had canceled their appointment and I was able to get their slot. The staff was to stupid/lazy to print out an updated donor sheet. Oh and the place was empty other than workers chatting and doing nothing. read more

I signed up to give platelets, completed rapid pass, but arrived about 5 minutes late. My driver's license wouldn't scan so an employee entered the information, and then I sat and waited 2-3 more minutes. An employee came and told me to go into a room for pre-screening, where I disturbed an employee who was on her cellphone in the room. Just as we were getting started on the pre-screening, the site manager came in and said that I couldn't donate platelets because, by then, it was 13 minutes after my appointment time! The site says they close at 3 o'clock, platelet donation takes two hours, so I'm not sure why they would even make a 1:30 appointment. I would've just given them a rating of one star based on today's experience, but my previous experience at this site has been more positive. By the way, they do use a two arm technique instead of the one arm technique used at some other agencies. read more

I'm a recent COVID survivor. Several people have told me that blood from persons in my state is being sought for use in cure research. I went online and was directed to the Red Cross website. It wouldn't let me find a donation center or make an appointment. The server was down for maintenance, and would be back up after 9PM on Sunday, June 6. Today is Wednesday, June 9. Then got on the Duluth site, and it too was not working: tried to make a donation appointment without success. Thought about just going there, but after reading the reviews, changed my mind. If the Red Cross is serious about seeking blood donations, at a minimum their technology should work. That lax attitude suggests similar unconcern about client service described in reviews. Unless some other reputable entity is collecting blood, the pint stays in my veins. read more

Do yourself a favor and do not use this place to donate your blood, they have some good people but a few of incompetent people as well the last time I donated would have been my second gallon but the idiot who insertEd the needle in my arm went all the way through the vein then moved it many time causing much pain then turned the machine on only to turn it off and tell me I could not give blood today, I told her she was and idiot and should not have anything sharp in her hand waisted my day ... do not go here read more

Not sure if they do the mobile drives in Grayson, but this team is awesome!!! Every time!!! I have been using this team for years now. read more

American Red Cross - O+ blood type, no reason not to help! - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - Duluth, Georgia

This review is not meant to put a shadow on the good people at the donation center as much as the lack of faith in the direction of the policy makers of the organization. I have been a regular donor of A- blood to the red cross for some time and, at last notice was at the 8 gallon level. Today however is probably my last attempt to donate via the Red Cross. I had made , or so I thought, a reservation on Friday for a 10:45 Power red donation on Sunday 8/22/21 at the Duluth GA center. Before went to the center I completed the rapid pass and arrived at the center on time . When I went to check in I was informed that they had no record of an appointment for me. This was not the first time I had made an appointment which had been lost in the Red Cross data system. They did however said I could check in as a Walk-in as the time slot was open. After completing all of the preliminary process an verifing the Rapid pass check I went the the process station. As all the prparations were being made, the locating the vein for the needle insertion was the next on the list. I told the Nurse that my veins were deep and that not every nurse can find them on the first try. Maybe if I hadn't said anything things may have turned out better. but once the needle was inserted the vein became as alusive as usual and only provided a very limited flow of blood. A second Nurse was called in but no better results were obtained. Once the needle was removed I offered to let then give my other arm a try however I was told they could not do that as that was against policy and I would not be able to donate today. This was not the first time this had happened but what I was told next is what convinced me to move my Blood donations to another organization. I said I would make another appoinment next week. I was told I would have to wait another 4 months to try again. I asked why I would have to wait if no Blood was taken. I was told it was policy. I asked if the Nurse was sure about that , she checked with what I assume was the lead nurse on duty who relayed that it wasn't 4 months but would be 54 days. Im sorry, but this makes absolutley no sence to me so I will be researhing other organization and or local hospitals who would interesed in my donations Gene K read more

Visited: 03/24/2016 I came here after making an appointment the same day because of an e-mail I received saying that they really needed my blood type. My blood was drawn by Aaron and he was outstanding! He got the needle in one try! Thank goodness!! I am super happy that Aaron helped me and didn't stick the needle in more than once (I've had that happen and it caused some PTSD). I'm typically not squeamish, but I was bruised quite badly in the past and yes, it was a bit painful. It's painful if the person doesn't know how to do it correctly once. So thank you so much Aaron for a great visit!! read more

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I've been donating here for about two years, and I just love the staff here. Always greeted with a smile, thanked for my donation, and they keep the facility immaculate. Those green walls make me smile. read more

Receptionist was great--- the phlebotomist and another tech were rude and condescending. After a tense and awkward introduction to her, I actually saw her talking about me, and the other tech would not stop looking at me and fighting back giggles. The phlebotomist herself had absolutely no bedside manner, sympathy, or manners. I walked away feeling very upset-- I will never return to this location and have been put-off of blood donating. I have done so before at other American Red Cross locations and signed up this time because I kept getting phone calls about my supposed rare blood type being scarce. I always explain to them off the bat that I have a severe phobia of blood and needles, only donate to help others, and everyone has always been compassionate and understanding. Not this lady. She actually complained that I was making HER nervous and would not stop rolling her eyes. After she checked my iron, she stated my iron levels were too low and curtly ended the session. Who knows if it was even true or not? I wish I could get back the gas I wasted getting there only to be met with rudeness and having to be needlessly pricked on the finger. It was a very, very, very bad experience. Would NOT recommend this location to anyone. read more

As a regular donor, I have never had such a bad experience as this one. I came into the building and no one was there to help me. I thought the place was understaffed, so I just signed myself in anyway and waited 20 minutes before a worker saw me and told me to wait. I had an appointment, but apparently that didn't matter. After waiting even more, a different worker approached me in a rude, angry and patronizing manner and told me to read the packet. As a regular, I know the material so I waited around some more. Then, she came back (with several workers behind her, so they were not understaffed, they just didn't respect donors' time) and she told me to go to room #1 and she turns back around to whisper to another worker. I asked her "excuse me?" so she could tell me what she whispered. She changed the subject and talked to me as if I was a child and said, "room #1, the first room, the room with the light on, right there". She rolled her eyes. I did NOT trust that woman (nor the workers that acted like they didn't want to be there) to stick a needle in me, so I told her that I wasn't going to donate and left. It seems like the workers think they could act unprofessionally because there are no other donors watching. They treat the donors that are new to the building (I am sure there are no returning donors) horribly, and they do not come back. I entered in an amazing mood and left in a foul one. It is so sad that she is a representative of Red Cross. I will never go back there again. I am sticking to church blood drives from now on. Do yourself a favor and donate at other areas. read more

I had an appointment to donate whole blood today - 12/30 - as verified on my e-mail. I completed my Rapid Pass and came @ 10:45, my appointment time. As I was preparing to sign in, one staff member asked my name. He found my name on a list that was not for whole blood donations. He immediately told me that they did not have staff available to take my blood. I was shocked!!! I have been getting e-mails almost daily because of the blood shortage especially O Negative, my blood type. I left quite upset and disappointed that I had set this time aside on a busy day to help. This is the second time I have had a bad experience with this location. Another time, I waited half an hour for them to get me after signing in. When I stood up, they appeared shocked and said they thought I left. I will not go back to this location again to give blood and not sure I will continue with American Red Cross. I have donated for years and have never experienced the rudeness and lack of concern that this location exhibited. read more