This was my first time booking an appointment, giving i was told it would take about 2 hours…read more.. nope was there from 12:17 to almost 5. okay not mad fine. but then after allll that my debit card does not want to active. I went back they gave me a new card; told me their system is down and to try again later... It has been a week already, i'm so disappointed. I supposedly saved 2 lives and can't even get 100 bucks out of it??? Give me my money cause i'm never coming back.

I've been donating for 2 years at a competitor and decided to try BioLife to see if it was better…read more BioLife's phlebotomists seem less trained than the other place because they struggled to find my vein every-other visit, even though that had never been an issue before. On my 10th visit, they placed the needle in far too deep and when the blood was returned to my arm, it wasn't going into the vein, just into my arm tissue, so the skin quickly expanded into a huge egg-shaped balloon that stung more than I ever expected that would. Now I'm dealing with the biggest bruise of my life that looks like I play roller derby.

For my third time donating platelets, I wanted to check out LifeSouth's Northeast Georgia Center in…read moreGainesville, which is actually much closer to my house than the Greater Atlanta Center in Dunwoody (18 miles north vs. 34 miles south). After you donate at least once to LifeSouth, an employee will call you at least once a month to see if you can make time to come in to donate again. Since there is a high demand for platelets yet a small number of willing donors, they want regular donors to be able to supply blood and blood components to local hospitals in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. According to LifeSouth's website, "Platelets help patients with bleeding disorders caused by leukemia and cancer treatment, or open-heart surgery." This time, I made a 10 am appointment for a Monday for me and my sister (Yoomee H.) to donate platelets. I specifically wanted us to have the same time slot so that we could start and end around the same time. Unfortunately, things did not occur as planned for my third time donating platelets... We arrived a couple minutes before 10 am, and we were checked in by a very friendly woman at the front desk. She told us that they were happy yet surprised to have us there to donate platelets because they "weren't expecting us," even though I had made the appointment the previous week. To make a very, VERY long story short, we both waited over an hour before we were able to even have our initial blood test and interview, which must be done every time before you donate blood, platelets, or other blood components. After we finally had our interviews, we had to wait another hour or so to get started with the donation process. This was incredibly frustrating. When we checked in, we were warned that they were understaffed that day, but they did not indicate that we would have to wait THAT long! The phlebotomist who performed the platelet collection on both me and my sister was very sweet, but it was obvious that she was incredibly flustered about being the only person taking care of us as well as a whole blood donor. She had difficulty locating the vein in my left arm, which I usually have the donation done through, and even punctured it in the wrong spot. So eventually, she drew the donation through my right arm - and both of my arms had to be bandaged at the end. =( Arghhh... Like the donor center in Dunwoody, the platelet donor seats are pretty comfortable, they provide you with a blanket and heating pad under your arm (because it gets cold), and you get your own TV and remote to occupy your time. And unlike the Dunwoody center, this one has a decent library of DVDs if you want to watch a movie while you're donating, or you can bring your own! I picked a DVD to watch, but the phlebotomist forgot to turn mine on for me. Fortunately, I brought a book to read while I was donating for about an hour and a half. Overall, this LifeSouth Community Blood Center gets 2.5 stars - minus 2.5 stars for the ridiculously long wait to even get started because they were so understaffed. I was not happy that I had to spend over 4 hours at the donor center and get punctured in both arms. I have to mention, however, that the staff was super friendly, welcoming, and apologetic, and I really appreciated this. Although they assured us that they usually don't operate this way, I'm sorry to say that I simply can't bring myself to return to this location. I will drive further to the Dunwoody location, which is the main location in Atlanta, for my future donations to LifeSouth. [Review 107 of 366]

The staff was fantastic. I came in with my mom for my first time donating and they were so…read moresupportive. They interviewed me and I told them about a disorder I have that can make you pass out during things like this. They sat me down and found the proper vein very quickly. When the woman stuck me it barely hurt, she definitely knew what she was doing. About 4 minutes later I started feeling dizzy and passed out. Once I came back I was covered in ice packs and the entire staff was around me seeing if I was okay. They handled the situation so well, I was impressed. They had me sit and wait to leave for about an hour so that I wouldn't faint on the way home. Great job lifesouth Gainesville!

Prompted by a recent American Red Cross email that there was a serious blood shortage in the Metro…read moreAtlanta area I booked an appointment to donate blood at the 3000 Old Alabama Road location in Johns Creek, GA on 1/25/2024. I donated blood at this location last November. My January 2024 donation at this location was far and away a much more positive experience than my first visit last year. When I walked in I was acknowledged and greeted. Such a huge difference to be welcomed. The woman who assisted me through the blood donation process, Shaquendra aka Quen, was delightful and a real pro! I am happy to say that I will be returning to donate again later this Spring at this location. Thank you Quen for taking such good care of me.

Honestly not the best location. Very unfriendly people here. Last time I came in the person jammed…read morethe needle in my vein incorrectly and it fell out. Then put it the needle back in and it was still not in right. A pretty painful donation and ended up with a black and blue arm for a week. Red Cross does great thing, but would probably avoid this location.

This is regarding the Cumming Facility. One of the…read moretechnicians was coughing like they had TB. I provided my phone number 3 times and they still got it wrong. I question the infection control as they were touching everything. We had tablets to answer questions that were not wiped down. They missed my vein - I never gave blood as the pain of multiple attempts caused me to become congested and shooting pain in arm.

I haven't been able to donate for almost two months now because my pulse is too high after the fda…read morechanged their stuff for donations. Now someone's pulse has to be between 50-100 instead of 50-110

This place has rapidly declined over the past 8 months of donating here and management seams to…read moreCareless. No sense of urgency non existent work effort and just ridiculous wait times. The only employee I've seen constantly give it her all and do everything she can to keep this place above water is Breanna the phlebotomist and she gets no help nor appreciation. This place is a joke and will probably loose the only employee they have worth a damn because of their negligence. Give that women a raise!!!! Before you have no one.

They had me waiting 50 minutes in the chair for someone to put the needle in me, that was after the…read morecheck up. Its like they were purposely avoiding coming to me so that someone else would do it.

After being told by Red Cross customer service that seating accommodations could be made, I…read morescheduled an appointment at this location hoping for a better experience. Unfortunately, it was even worse. When I politely asked if I could donate while seated, explaining that lying down made me uncomfortable, the staff not only refused my request but also spoke to me in a hostile and condescending manner. In front of other donors in the lobby, I was questioned aggressively about why I didn't want to lay down, making me feel embarrassed and unwelcome. I had come in willing and ready to donate, simply asking for a basic adjustment to make the process more comfortable. Instead, I was treated rudely and left feeling like I was a burden for even asking. This is not the way donors should be treated -- especially when Red Cross constantly stresses how urgently they need blood donations. This experience makes me wonder how many willing donors are turned away not because they can't donate, but because they are treated with so little understanding and professionalism. Very disappointing.

It was my first time doing it. The team there was very nice and helpful and answered all of my…read morequestions.

Based on 2 years of plasma donations: Pros: friendly staff,…read moreand the phlebotomists seem better trained than other places. Cons: the wait time can be up to 3 hours of standing in line, especially ever since they switched to the new machines (which are perpetually breaking) in early 2025, and they are the lowest paying around -- when you combine the pay with the wait time, it finally made me leave to see how the competition treats their donors.

Hi everyone one I am putting this post to make everyone aware of the ripe off plasma donation are…read moretaking advantage of because our golden blood is so valuable but their pay is sorry we are worth more than that make sure you check your dashboard supposedly pay is not the same as what you should get and gas prices so high is it worth it !!?

Maybe more than a few months of l phlebotomy school would be nice. First two times were ok. Then…read moreone lady poked me wrong and my blood squirted out. Then I the next time I got a hematoma and then once again this last time on August 28th I got another hematoma. They tried to say it was my fault because of my tattoo placements and also because I "moved my arm" . Hematomas only occur when they try to poke a vein that isn't visible. They just didn't poke me right at all.

First visit I was there 3 hours, completing all the health information & donating. I had no…read moreproblems & received $100. The second visit was awful! The nurse was unsure of where to stick my arm, but got me hooked up anyway. After 10 minutes, a nurse ran over & stopped the process. Wrapped my arm up & said I was losing cells. She then showed me a bag of blood, maybe a pint or more, and told me I lost that much blood & threw it in the trash. I only received $75, so I lost $25, due to their mistake. My arm swelled & was badly bruised for almost a week after. I won't go back.

Great people and atmosphere for giving cancer patients the ability to recover. About six months…read moreafter I started donating (as a more effective way to donate blood), my close friend was diagnosed with leukemia. It was a great way to be directly helping her. Ever tell someone with bad medical news "Is there anythung I can do?" This is it. Actually giving a piece of yourself that will be directly beneficial to someone who will die without donors' help. Beth had a succesfull bone marrow transplant and is cancer free. As a side benefit it has ridded her of very painful fibromyalgia! The friendly, efficient staff, equipment and sparkling clean facilty really helps to make it easy. And you get snacks!

Not a good atmosphere and the process was a little scary when they had to move the needleread more