Best Blood Bank Lowell Near Me

Susan Hartford: Ended up severely bruised by a poorly skilled phlebotomist and they refused to extend my promotional coupon even though it was their fault I was too bruised to donate. I followed all of their recommendations for hydration and nutrition in advance of donating. Very disappointed they treat donors with so little humanity. They just lost a very healthy donor.

Joshua Carrig: People here are kind, and the extra $ is great.Two stars missing because the music is played very loud and is repetitive, overplayed pop. I can hear it through noise canceling headphones and it's absolute torture.

Ryan Prendible: Really clean, professional, kind, answered all my questions. No complaints, everything went perfectlyEdit: Knocking off a star because every time I've been after my first 2 donations, they've been sorely understaffed. Expect a 50 minute wait (as a returning donor!) from the time your appointment is scheduled for them to even collect your vitals. Given the huge margins of selling blood plasma, and the center's proximity to Boston, I don't understand why they're understaffed.Additionally, I had a bit of a mixed experience recently - the phlebotomist (apparently) missed my vein when hooking me up to the machine, and after a couple minutes my blood pressure plummeted to 90/49, I turned white, and got dizzy. They took great care of me though, and ended up compensating me as if I had made a full donation of 900mL, even though I ended up donating 60mL.

Tracy Smith: Clean. Friendly and efficient staff...

Jessica Carnevale: Appt was at 1, waited for 35 minutes. There was no notification of needing physical proof of ssn when signing up. waited to get my veins checked for 20 more minutes, there were multiple alarms going off that no one seemed interested in. Waited again, then got my vitals checked. I was told I could not donate because my heart rate was too low (42), I explained I was young in my 20’s and an athlete and that my normal resting is 40-50. After I stood up a couple times and falsely elevated it he was satisfied with my now 56 and decided to proceed. Then my iron was too low and he declined to check it again. He stuck my finger with the lancet and did not wipe away the first two drops of blood this is not best practice and will falsely lower results. (I gave blood later that afternoon with the American Red Cross where my iron levels were acceptable). Then he asked if I wanted education on how to bring my levels up. I stated red meat/green leafy things right? and he said poptarts help…. The very few staff there were not friendly and it seemed at each different point you were either interrupting their conversation or holding them from their lunch break. I have no problem waiting, I understand the shortages in healthcare, but, an estimation of wait time upon arrival would alleviate some frustration. I am interested to know if the severe shortage of plasma is due simply to poor donor experiences, such as listed above, rather than lack of willing and able donors. In my 2hour exposure to this organization I witnessed 4 different donors leave simply due to wait time. I will continue to donate with other organizations but, will not be returning to donate here. I hope this review, along with the many other I am now seeing, will make a difference in improving this locations donor experience as the people needing the plasma will be the ones that suffer rather than the organization itself.

Beckie Smith: Extremely disorganized...pay little attention to customer service. Overact when dealing with simple issues...answer every question with "we're understaffed." (Methuen location)

Eleanor Adamsf: Great service…. All the staff is wonderful😍

Camille McMullen: I like coming here. but the wait is horrible. I have walked out a few times after waiting 3-4 hours and not have even been stuck yet and just waiting in a bed. It looks like it's a little better but you can only check in 5 min before your appointment and then you wait an hour in line. Sit in the bed 20 min before your set up. then another like 45 to be drawn from. it's a 3-4 hour event. not worth the money most times. If you could check in like 30 min early. your would actually be checked in and in a bed by the time by your appointment time. . Better organization would be awesome.

Christine Higginbottom: Staff doesnt not answer calls or return callsOne gentleman ( Kenny) was extremely disrespectful to my husbandAppointment was for 1215pm and did not leave till 4pm.

Model Behavior: Jessica M makes it a fun pleasant experience

Stereotypical Stereotype: Don't listen to the bad reviews. I came here today nervous because I what I read and it was the total opposite. Friendly staff. It was my first time so it took 3 hours which went by fast. Bring head phones and watch a few episodes of your favorite show and you will be done in no time.

stephanie mendonca: Overall good experience. We did notice that they wear their dirty gloves while typing and so not sanitize the station completely before taking the next patient where they are pricking fingers for blood..

john mcgovern: This place is just awful now. They are severely understaffed, and they don’t honor appointment times. Doesn’t matter what time you pick, there are always 10+ people in line in front of you. It takes me over 2 hours to get through the process even as a return donor. Everything moves at a snails pace. Won’t be going back

Jeremy Allen: Jess m is very good she is nice and she puts her best of effort in. I recommend her.

Michigan J Frog: Lines are way too long. What would take 1 hr at the San Diego location takes 2.5 hrs here

Deborah Bernard: I was mortified when alarm kept going off, blood pressure thing was strangling my arm and my hand was going numb..blood was pooling out where the needle was going in my arm..and when I asked for help, the guy yelled and said that he was busy, another guy finally came over and had to unhook me, then he said that I was the one being rude to his staff and next time he'll BARR me from donating !!! I have a huge hematoma on my arm and is very sore.. THEY are very short staffed, and over book appointments, almost 3 hours of my time is not worth $40 dollars and risking my health, I won't be going back anytime soon.....Breaks my heart, my friends daughter depends on this life saving plasma...

Ishaq Omar: Very clean place technically with caution and rest assured by staff and very observant. I did plasma donation critically steps taken to donate are very clear and understood. Nurses make sure you understand the concept before and after. Let's donate to save a life. If you are willing and eligible let's do it.

Courtney K: This is directed more at management than any of the staff, who have all been friendly and attentive both of the times I donated. I think this location is suffering from staffing shortages and no cap on the number of appointments. Both times I donated, wait times were over 2 hours with a line practically out the door. My appointment today was at 6pm and I wasn't hooked up to a machine until 8:20pm. I spent 40 minutes waiting on a bed, watching people in other sections who had just laid down getting hooked up before me. The issue is not enough staff for each section, and not enough staff to check vitals (only 2 for a line of 15+ after closing). While I was waiting, I saw a lot of people getting too dizzy to keep donating or having to be monitored after donation, probably because of the excessive wait times. I ate less than 2 hours before donating but that doesn't matter if I don't actually donate until 4+ hours later. To top it off, they blew out my vein tonight (again not blaming the overworked staff) so for nearly 3 hours of my time, I got nothing out of it. Consider reducing the number of available time slots so that your staff aren't forced to rush through patients, and so that patients don't have to suffer the consequences of excessive wait times.

wordlife_ 73: It's a great place if you need cash fast, everyone's really nice but they need more practice sticking people there's one female that I will vouche for Alexandra --- she's the best one they have Super nice and very informative

xonthe edgex: Made an appointment and brought an acceptable form of SSN proof as requested by the email. Was told the system was down and I would need the actual hard copy. Nowhere did it say this would be a possibility and if I had known that I just would have brought the card. Wasted an hour driving back and forth and couldn't even donate plasma. Terrible communication.

Arpit Jain: Really sweet people working here. I did a whole blood donation and it went great. Parking is free with a validated ticket at the garage next door

Bonnie Ho: I went to donate blood yesterday (02/19/2023) and had a great experience. Shout out to the team on staff yesterday. I have small veins so its difficult for people to find them, but they found a way and reassured me that I wasn’t a bother. There was also a person next to me who was super anxious but the a few staff members gave her comfort, held her hand, gave her an ice pack, etc.

E. Rockwell: Excellent center and very convenient! The staff is experienced, knowledgeable and kind! Donate blood and save lives!

Greg Kinlan: I showed up to give blood. The lady who administer the blood donation was very tired. She must have yawned 20/30 times in my presence through the intake and procedure. The actually blood donation was a nightmare. She inserted the needle into a bad vein and she needed to replaced by another phlebotomist. It was just a terrible experience. Go somewhere else honestly, the incentives are bad here because the experience is disappointing

Kyle Saylor: I am incessantly inundated by Red Cross with pleas for blood donations and every recent attempt to schedule an appointment at this donation center has resulted in day-of cancellation. My last attempt, they waited to tell me in person (after I had made the trip to the donation center) that they would not be able to facilitate my donation. It seems that the ‘critical’ need for blood donations isn’t enough motivation for the Red Cross to honor their appointments. I will continue my attempts to donate, but I am not impressed with this donation center.

Jonathan Leibovich: I attempted to donate blood earlier today and was greeted with two receptionists who had made up their mind about my appointment before I even said a word. I had scheduled an appointment earlier in the afternoon and was told that I didn’t have an appointment even though I had my rapid pass ready. I understand that it was an appointment late in the day and you want to go home, but to put in literally 0 effort for someone going out of their way to donate blood is just disappointing. If you’re going to put in the effort to donate blood, don’t do it here.

Aaron Arnold: I love my career with the Red Cross.

Jennifer Woods: I attempted to donate whole blood today and had an appointment time confirmed. When I showed up I was told it wasn’t in their “system” (which mind you was a piece of paper). The receptionist went to ask the nurse and she refused to take anyone without an appointment. I showed the receptionist that my appointment was confirmed and thus I did have an appointment but they refused to allow me to donate. Seems like a pretty questionable system and practice to turn away an O negative donor.

Rachel C: I love the staff here!

李子俊: New edited: After the complaints, I received the call back and someone talked to me and apologized. On Feb 11 I donated again. I did not pass the pulse test at the beginning, and the staffs are patient to wait me calm down. Then I passed the pulse test and started the 2 unit platelet donation. They assigned the experienced staff and used the single arm. The needle injection is quick and successful.New donors, please always ask an experienced staff to inject the needles. I have 2 band-aids on my fingers as someone failed to collect enough hemoglobin. 2 mouths ago, the staff failed to inject the needles on my right arm. I could not bear the pain and screamed. I would not change my ratings until Red Cross replies and explains the detailsEdited: I submitted the complaint to the Red Cross consumer service email, still waiting for response.

Timothy Meeker: Staff was very professional, friendly and courteous when I was running late on the train. The facility is quiet, clean and very accessible. I gave platelets over two hours and my only real gripe is that the chair was broken, so my back got cramped - but still 110% worth it!

Richard Callahan: Professional but check in was slow

Bruna Vilela: There was an accident at 93. I ended up being 15 min late. They couldn’t take me in any longer. Mind you it was a 3 hour, platelet donation time slot. I never once took all 3 hours. I had my rapid pass ready and all. But they couldn’t take me in for being late. I’ve showed up on time every other time and had to wait to be taken in (which I never minded). When I asked why, they couldn’t even give me an explanation, all I got was a very awkward “yeeah…” no one planned this accident on 93 and it is ridiculous that they couldn’t be slightly human about it. Ended up having an empty chair for 2hrs and 45 min.

Susan Buta: Do not even begin to tell us how critical the need for blood is after cancelling my appointment for this facility twice two weeks in response to your "urgent" messages. 7/21/21. I was personally called by someone at the ARC. She basically guaranteed my appointment and yes, they kept the third appointment. It should not be that hard!

F D: This is my ever first blood donation. At this location, the nursing staff named Fei (or Phee?) (name tag was hidden) today, on July 18th, 2021, had the worst attitude. She used her monotone in directives and answers to all questions. She forcibly pulled a post blood donation paper pamphlet away from me without any warning because she wanted to place the barcode sticker on before giving to me. She seldom looked at me when I asked questions and stared on my phone screen for no reason for straight 5 seconds. Very passive aggressive that she was reluctant to help her fellow coworker when a machine was beeping and angry/annoyed at me for asking questions. I could not tolerate that almost I did not donate and wanted to walk out because of the fear that she may do something horrible wrong with her almost offensive behavior. Certainly I will never go to this location for any foreseeable future donations or if I will ever donate again to experience this terrible service. Unsure if she had always been this way or just today turned out to be a bad day or just toward me. Regardless of how often she used "please" in all her "commands," she didn't seem to mean it. Otherwise, it was pleasant to converse with other fellow blood donors and exchanged experiences.

Omer Zeliger: They cancelled my appointment without notifying me lol

D Harmon: The staff is nice. The place is nice. There were 12 chairs, over 6 staff, and only two people donating. The website said that there were no appointments available. The staff had to be persuaded to take me as a walk in. What's up?

Lefkoful: Avoid the red cross. They may be one of the only options in MA. But they should be avoided.

Julie J: Last time I went to this place and the took more than 500Ml of blood from body and the last who pinned the needle in my body was very hesitated to take the needle back. I was lousy for next 3 days and had to eat plenty of food to keep upright.

Carol Carveth: Friendly people, AND you can get parking validated at a nearby parking garage for all day. That's kind of crazy.