Gary S.
I've been here three times
and it just wasn't meant to be. I have tried to donate plasma at the Columbus location on three different occasions and have been unable to donate. The first time I went to donate they were incredibly backed up and after waiting 3 hours asked if I would reschedule and come back later. They told this a lot of people waiting and new people that would walk in. The second time I walked into 8:02 for my 8:00 a.m. appointment. The person in front of me answered some questions for about 5-10 minutes and then the receptionist walked away for 5 more minutes and I patiently waited to be greeted by the staff. She then returned to the front and asked what time my appointment was for and I replied at 8:00 a.m. She asked me to take a seat in the front and she would be with me. I waited about 20 minutes for her to come back and tell me that my appointment was at 8:00 a.m. and I could not be seen that day. On my third appointment, I made sure to be at the appointment 30 minutes early knowing that I could be turned away for even being 2 minutes late. I got to the process where you get to sit in the side room, where I tried to read a book, while another plasma donor was talking incredibly loud about things people should not talk about in public. She left about 40 minutes into waiting because it was taking too long and all of the seven new patients seemed relieved when she departed. There was a large cutout in the waiting room that stated something along the lines of "We value quality and customer satisfaction, please let us know how we are doing". While looking at this poster the same lady who refused me on my last visit was at the front being incredibly rude to new donors because the system "overbooked" and "overscheduled" their appointments. She asked people to come back and reschedule in a frazzled and unsympathetic manner. From her demeanor and how her coworkers responded to her I believe she was in a management position. She even told one customer that the system overbooking them for that day was not her problem and that if they had issues to contact corporate. This happened to so many people walking in that people either gave her back as much vitriol as she gave them or they quietly walked away. Finally, it was my turn to be called upon and I honestly answered the questions on the computer and paused at the question that mentions that they sold data and reluctantly agreed. I got my finger pricked and waited a while longer to be pulled aside where I was informed that I would be unable to donate. The reason is that I have been diagnosed with PTSD and that loud noises could trigger me and cited the safety of their staff. At this point, I wanted to say "Did you not hear the woman being loud and obnoxious on the phone in the waiting room and I was unaffected?" Not everyone with PTSD has the same symptoms. Perhaps, a better question would probably be "Have you ever had violent or erratic behavior in public?" or something along those lines. I was informed that I could get a general doctor to sign a form that the doctor could fax in. I do not have health insurance and honestly do not want to pay the $250 out of pocket for a visit that would take 3-4 plasma donations to recoup. Seeing how they turn away people with appointments for no particular reason other than being unorganized I did not even know if I would get any sort of return or even be seen once I paid to see a doctor to get approval. I wish they had a disclaimer about being unable to donate if you have been diagnosed with PTSD or that you would need clearance. I would have not wasted my time, about 7-8 hours cumulatively, trying to donate three times. The rude woman at the front seemed to get great joy from turning away people with appointments and the way she behaved was embarrassing. There seems to be a complete disconnect between corporate and the actual location itself. With the high number of people being turned away, it makes me question if they are more into the business of selling information than actually selling plasma.