Long story short...

I am a frequent platelet donor (hurray for me).

I have issues with the OrSense optical device and its accuracy.

#

After being deferred due to hemoglobin of 12.9 and a followup reading of 12.2 minutes later, I was upset.

1. That delta is physiologically impossible

2. I was not allowed to donate the triple+ plasma

The technician used the HemoCue capillary method for the past 3 donations AND used the OrSense AND showed a delta of 1.0 at one appointment.

Sorry....here is the short part.

Last donation the technician refused to do the finger stick 'because he did not want to lose his job'.

I have provided documentation showing the OrSense device has a delta average of 0.5-0.7 while HemoCue has a delta of 0.1-0.2.

I am 'working with Red Cross' and FDA to provide an official document that states capillary devices CAN be used at donor request.

-->does anyone have an official doc that says capillary device can be requested?

Thanks!

Hi! I will be having an interview for the friendly calls program next week. I was wondering how the interview process might look. Is there anything I should know to be prepared? Thanks!

As a prospective ARC volunteer, what does a typical day look like for someone helping with DST, logistics, or information and planning during a deployment?

My most recent experience was as an intermittent employee for a U.S. government Incident Management Team (IMT) that deployed medical providers to large-scale disasters. ICS/NIMS was utilized, so each section/position (such as operations, planning, logistics, safety, etc.) had a very specific set of standard operating procedures.

I am not looking for that kind of rigid structure anymore (quite the opposite at this stage of my life), but I could use some firsthand insight to help me determine what positions are interesting and challenging, as well as where the greatest need for this type of skill set may be.

Thanks!

Thought this was fun. And sorry, it's not real. :(

There's a data analyst job posting right now. I saw some reviews saying low pay and bad work life balance. There are some posts on here but mostly from field work positions, not office position.

I recerted my CPR and Standard FA this past weekend through a company affiliated with the red cross (got my red cross certification). I've done the course several times before so was kind of assuming it would be similar to what I've done before with maybe some differences because everyone has different ways of teaching. Some people were doing the full course for the first time, and then there was a couple of us just doing the recert. We spent most of the day just reading off of slides and him talking about what to do rather than actually practicing sits (which again is all good, but it seemed odd that we only did one sit and it was a conscious, breathing victim with no other injuries). What really bugged me is that while performing CPR on manikins he came over to me to correct my CPR and told me that my elbows shouldn't be straight but rather I should be bending my elbows and pushing with my forearms. I've taken several courses and I have always been taught to lock my elbows and push strong while performing CPR so for him to tell me to bend my elbows and push just with my arms really threw me because I knew it was wrong. I asked him if the standards had changed and he said no this is how it has always been. I brushed it of and did it his way for the sake of getting my certification, but there were so many people there learning CPR for the first time who all learned it wrong (unless I'm wrong here). I just feel like this shouldn't just go by and he shouldn't be teaching people without being corrected.
I don't know who or where to contact, whether it's the company I went through or wether I go through red cross, or wether I'm over exaggerating and I should just leave it alone.

(Just so you all know, the title is supposed to be lighthearted.) I've tried donating Power Red (2 units of blood and a unit of platelets, iirc) and two singular units since then. All three times, I've been either partially successful (one blood unit and one platelet unit when I did Power Red) or unsuccessful (the two singular attempts afterwards). I feel like a fraud when wearing this shirt, but I still wear it to encourage others to donate blood.

A small part of my Red Cross and Red Crescent pin collection. I collected these from delegates I met during the 2017 Statutory Meetings in Antalya, Türkiye. Each pin is a nice reminder of the friendships and connections made through our Movement.

I've had this pin for a couple years don't know how it came to be in my possession and I have no clue what Cure Shrink means. Just wondering if anyone here could enlighten me.

A mini rant, and if anyone has any advice, please comment.

I completely understand the majority of work is completed by volunteers, including recruitment, so it is hard to communicate. But, if you're in the recruitment sector (to recruit more volunteers), why do you hate your position? Why is it so hard to reach out to people to ask questions?

It is near impossible to advance to the next stage in my region after filling out the interest form, I attended the screening on teams and everything, but I received another email to join another screening for positions. Did they lose my volunteer interest form I filled out? There is legit no email or contact to reach out to anyone for trouble shooting.

Then today, I get a reply back saying I didn't attend a screening meeting today. What?? I attended one two weeks ago with screenshots to prove it.

I'm so disappointed, I have experience working with emergency services, and I wanted to continue, but the recruitment process is so discouraging.

Has anyone done the phone screening for the blood donor ambassador?
Also, what types of questions do they ask, and how long is the screening?

Edit:
I just did the screening, and it was super quick (~5 minutes)!
Basically the person asked:
1. Do you plan to live in the same area for at least 6 months-1 year?
2. Are you volunteering for a school or court order?
3. Why are you interested in this position?
Then the person said someone else would call me 2-7 days later about the details :)

AB Negative mostly Plasma /Platelets

I used to donate blood whenever possible, when I was in the marines (probably 2000) I donated blood and it came back positive for hep c. And black listed from donating. Got rechecked every year in the marines, all negative. Been rechecked at least six times since I got out (I bring it up when I get a new doc they want to test it).

Is there a way to get off of the black list so I can donate again?

No big deal, but just wanted to let people who book donations at redcrossblood.org; I have an account there, and recently scheduled a donation. I thought it had been 8 weeks since I donated (you can't donate more often than that), but I double-checked and realized it hadn't quite been 8 weeks.

I had assumed the site wouldn't let you book an appointment within 8 weeks, but I was wrong. FYI.

Does anyone know what the requirements are to become an authorized driver for ARC? Do they look at speeding tickets on your record? If so, is it based on number of tickets, points on your record, timeframe (ie 12/24/36 months look-back)? Thanks in advance for any insight!

Just wanted to know if anyone is going through the same and has some advice

I volunteer with the South Florida Region and just heard about this vehicles from the other people here who saw the vehicle in person as one of the two created was handed over to our Region back in 2018. Am told it was pulled by RCHQ about a year later and is it BELIEVED that they are now operating somewhere out in the western US as radio communications vehicles. Can anyone confirm?

Here is a MOTORTREND article about them: https://www.motortrend.com/news/1810-nissan-builds-ultimate-service-titan-xd-for-american-red-cross

Here's am 8-minute walkaround video if you really want to go deep here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-Vhfb3zUOU

I hope this question is allowed here. If not my apologies.
Quick back story: I work in a child care setting. I have had basic CPR/FA training. We had a situation where a coworker got injured (not enough to warrant 911). 2 of my moms are licensed nurses and got up to assist the situation. Another mom who is a Physicians Assistant looked in on situation and said they had it under control.
Problem: I got in trouble for allowing them to assist the coworker. They state their policy (haven’t seen it in writing) requires me to DECLINE the help of a trained medical
Professional and take care of situation myself. They state liability on the company. I expressed that I was concerned and uncomfortable in doing so as i feel that any licensed medical Professional would be better able to provide the appropriate level of care then I could.
What do I do?

Hi,

New instructor with Red Cross here, the boulevard system doesn't seem to work, I keep getting rerouted to My Courses. Does it work for anyone else, or is this a known issue?

I've tried nothing and I'm all out of ideas.

Wondering if anyone with inside knowledge could help. I was recently offered a job with the RC for a phlebotomist position. (Mobile) I want to accept this position & work for this organization. However the hourly pay rate cut is eating me alive (double digits) Is there anything I can do or are these starting rates not flexible?

I try to give platelets every 10 - 14 days. Every so often, the person taking my vitals asks if I want to give plasma too, and I always say yes. I donated both about a week ago and am trying to make an appointment for five days from now to give platelets and am getting denied. The Red Cross is saying I have to wait a full month. I've never had this happen before. In the past, even if I've donated both, I can give platelets again in about a week or two. Any ideas? Is this a new policy?