American Red Cross Pasadena Donor Center

Great staff, I donate blood on a regular bases they are the best, ask for Rebeca to make your visit very short and fun , I feel good every time I donate blood because I know each time I donate I save three lives !

I’ve been volunteering at the American Red Cross blood donor center for 5 years. My duties are as follows: Ask the blood donor to sign in, give them a sticker if they are donating for themselves (autologous donation) or for others (directed donation), double red cells, or platelets. There are charts for those donating platelets so the nurses taking care of those. I ask the donor to read the reading material so they know the criteria and what to expect during and after donation. The phlebotomists (people who draw blood) call the donors to a private office room so they take the donor’s vital signs and give them a private questionnaire to determine eligibility.
At the refreshment table, I offer drinks and snacks. I also offer donation rewards such as reduced or free ticket vouchers to a game of their choice such as LA Galaxy and the Anaheim Ducks.
I have enjoyed all the nurses and phlebotomists over the years. Several of them have been very nice to me as my dad used to donate platelets regularly.

I love donating blood at this location. Everyone here are so friendly and kind. I will continue to donate blood to this location only.

Came in for the first time to donate platelets and the woman here were amazing!!’ So welcoming and informative. They also listened to my concerns and helped to reduce my anxiety. I also had a couple of bad needle removals when donating blood lately so I told the lovely woman who helped me today and she did such a great job removing them it was painless and almost completely unnoticed!!! I will be coming back on the 27^th to donate platelets again! And the blood on the 16^th.
It does take a lot of time and sitting still for so long is killer for me but it is temporary discomfort and nothing when compared to those who need what you are giving.
Totally worth it !

I’ve been donating blood for over 18 years and know that routine. When I was asked to donate platelets I agreed. I was given no instruction and began watching the movie put in front of me. About an our in the nurse came over and asked if I was in pain, I said no, why? Then I looked down to see that one arm looked like it had a baseball under the skin. The needle returning the blood had come out of the vein and was pumping blood back into my muscle essentially causing me to bleed out into myself. The nurses immediately unhooked everything and tried to help me to a bench to relax but it was too late, I fainted on the way to the bench and began vomiting. I was told someone from the Red Cross would contact me and when they did, I was told it was because I hadn’t listened to the instructions. The thing is, I was never given instructions and it was my first time donating platelets so I had no idea what to watch for. Never again, I’m looking for alternate facilities in which to donate blood in the future.

I’ve been committed to donating blood every 56 days for almost 11 years now, it’s something that’s important to me for no real reason other than it’s simple, easy, fairly quick and you have the satisfaction of knowing you have just helped save three peoples lives.
I’ve been coming to the donor center in Pasadena the last couple of years. Service is hit or miss still, which is understandable at times as they utilize volunteers but can be frustrating for me because I really do not like the feeling of going to do something and consideration of my time not being taken.
When things go smooth here, they go smooth and that’s the experience I go in hoping for each time. Some of the staff are familiar with me now and know I’m a regular. If all goes well there are times I am in and out of here in no time, since it only takes me a few minutes to fill the pint bag.
I’d recommend coming here, for sure! but come with patience although that’s something that is extremely hard for me. I stick it out, but I’m sure there are times when these folks think whoever my donation is going to is getting the bitchiest blood in Southern California.
I do plan on providing them with feedback via their donor survey to inquire about healthier snack options. I’m surely not coming for the snack and usually skip it and everything else they try to give you as a thank you but healthier snacks would be appreciated.
Private donor specified parking is readily available in the parking lot.

this is a regular stop for me. donating platelets. not fun but I feel good about it and the staff works hard to get you done as best they can.

Cozy and nice, and right around the corner. Every time I go here they give me cool coupons for things.

OK, Red Cross, you got me. Your incessant calls and messages about a winter blood shortage finally got me through your doors. I scheduled a 1pm appointment. Arrived 20 minutes early. Wasn’t called until 1:30pm. Yep, I spent nearly an hour just waiting to be seen. Worse than my doctor’s office. And I got deferred because of a mostly-​healed scratch (and the damn scab came off in the parking lot, FML).
Short-​staffed. No receptionist on-​duty. I was the one giving instructions to incoming people. Saw a guy come in with an appointment to donate platelets and they misplaced his file which meant he could only donate whole blood on that day.
For platelet donors: they only have older double needle machines. That’s right. Both arms must have good veins and you won’t be able to use your hands while hooked in. No reading, no browsing on your phone, no scratching your nose. If you pick a bad movie you’re stuck with it unless you shake off the headphones.
No wonder less than 5% of the population donates. These semi-​autonomous regions sell your blood to local hospitals to fund a huge national organization. Take out these middle men and check if your favorite hospital has a blood donor program. UCLA, Cedars Sinai, Huntington — all have great reputations and newer single needle machines. Never again, Red Cross.

I love donating blood here. The staff are very friendly, and they give you a lot of info on anything that has to do with blood. I have crappy veins and struggled to finish filling up the bag, so the head nurse recommend I drink lots of water and avoid coffee or any caffeine a few days before my donation and it worked. I can fill the bag up in less than 10min! It feels nice to save a couple of lives for just an hour of my time

What a great place to donate blood and save lives. The staff is friendly and helpful. They even have movies to watch while you donate. They give you all the juice and yummy treats you can eat afterwards too. Come check it out!

Excellent staff! They were so good to me. As a donor that has pass out issues they are great from beginning to end. They know all the tricks to make my donations go smooth.
A young male volunteer greeted me at first, so kind, so very nice and personable. He’s a great kid his parent or parents should be acknowledged for raising a great kid.
The older lady that game we water and cookies was so sweet and easy to sign me up in 56 days. We need more donors please consider donating blood today.
The girls in the back, I wish I could remember her name but she iced me when I needed it and was so good at her job.
Thank you all! See you again soon.

On top of the American Red Cross selling their blood to hospitals/​people who actually need the blood, I had a negative here that will make me unlikely to return. The hours and location are convenient — they truly are! However, the service I received left me less than satisfied.
Out of the six people I interacted with, maybe half of them seemed friendly. The teenager that was at the check-​in couldn’t have been more bored. I think he could use a lesson in customer service — students who simply do community service without actually caring about the community to get hours for college applications irk me to no end. I swear I was handed off at least four times by different nurses to start my blood donation. It was definitely annoying and delayed my evening plans. I noticed there were a bunch of nurses who were just sitting around and chatting. I felt like I was obviously in need of being tended to, yet these nurses didn’t it was weird that I was just there for a long while.
That being said, I highly doubt I’ll be returning. I encourage people to donate at Huntington Memorial Hospital, which is the only trauma hospital in the area. That means the most dire of incidents in a major catastrophe would be directed here.

Apparently I have some special blood or something… these guys won’t leave me alone! Phone calls, emails, even via post, every other month these vampires try to get me to make an appointment to get juiced. Every couple of months, I come in here to give blood. Why?, I’m not exactly sure… seeing as I can’t exactly track where my blood has gone. Am I saving babies? Am I hooking up a transfusion for a leukemia patient? Is my blood supporting research somewhere? My point is, it would be nice to know about this underground world of «Where Your Blood Donation Goes?»
Anyway, the hours are odd, but it’s a great place to chill on a hot day.
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Notes:
* Obamacare doesn’t really work for me, so I come here for the free mini-​physical…

The staff is friendly and funny. They make you feel very comfortable and are constantly checking on you. They have a nice selection of dvds to pick from so that you can watch on your private screem while you donate platelets. This last time I donated I threw up during and almost passed out (idk why) they were extremely attentive and kept checking my vitals before I drove off. Even though I felt like crap I will continue to donate platelets. Totally worth saving a life.

The staff here is very nice, but everything here is unorganized. I scheduled an appointment for 3pm and ended up staying until about 4:30 to donate blood, A bit long if i do say so myself. I think they could use a hand or two! The facility is clean for the most part and other then the time complaint, everything else was good! free cookies and juice, yay!

This is my first time donating at this location and I was impressed with the comfort of the chairs, the professional and friendly staff, the abundance of snacks and the fact that they brought snacks to my chair before I got up… okay, maybe that was because I was a bit queasy and they didn’t want me falling out on the floor… but still… they were great!
I also got a free T-​shirt!
I will try to schedule all my future blood donations at this location.

I’ve had good and bad experiences here. The last time, I donated whole blood and it went very smoothly. I was in and out of there in a breeze.
Prior to that visit, I had donated platelets twice. They let you pick out a movie to watch on your personal tv, which is great. The first time, this process also went smoothly. The second time, they were running an hour late, they couldn’t get the needle in my arm, my nurse left and no one was attentive to me. It’s really hit or miss hear, depending on your nurse and donation type.
They have never given me the incentives that they are supposed to (cold stone ice cream, etc), which is no big deal to me, but might be to some people.

Everything was pretty good experience except for the rude interviewer. They had me complete an online questionnaire. They ask you some deep questions, some that you won’t even know or medical terms foreign to you. I told the Interviewer I answered «I do not know» for the questions I really don’t know just like the previous Red Cross lady told me. So the Interviewer had the nerve to say condescendingly How can you not know if your family ever had *Trigliseridelesous (*#@&&*%$@)? I’m like, cause I don’t know or know what it is! She goes: That makes no sense! How can you possibly not know?!
I was in awe!

I didn’t have a single hiccup. Definitely very professional, no amateur nurses picking at me, I was in and out easily.
I donated whole blood. I thought the staff was amiable and answered random questions I’d always had had about the process. Like what blood pressure means. When I could donate again. Whether or not this Pasadena location was the closest to me.
I walked in and they took me within ten minutes. And they’re open one day of the weekend!
I guess the only downside was I didn’t get to pick the color bandage. Oh well, I’ll live (and hopefully three other people will, too, thanks to me!)