Do they want it or not?

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I find it really annoying when you are told by some organisation how important you are and how much they need you – and then when you try to respond you can’t actually speak to anyone. Recently I’ve been receiving messages from the blood donor service, telling me that stocks are critically low and that donors are urgently needed. I received another text message this morning telling me that some appointments at my local centre had become available and encouraging me to get in touch. They would be especially grateful to have my blood, apparently, because I have the common-as-muck kind that can be given to anyone. Well I couldn’t go last week because I’ve had a bit of a cold, but I’m fine now so I was thinking of trying to arrange an appointment. Then this morning I had a volunteer driving journey, taking a couple of people to the dialysis unit. That all went smoothly until the final mile, which took us 20 minutes of queueing. Honestly it would have been faster to walk. I wasn’t in a desperate hurry to get back into the traffic, so I thought about doing something else nearby, and I wondered whether I could go and donate blood since the donor centre was not far away. So I called the number in the text message (the national appointments number) but all I got was the standard “We are receiving a high call volume right now, please continue to hold” so I did for a minute or so, then there was another message saying “We are sending you a link to the online booking system, goodbye” and then the call was cut off. ! I clicked on the link, it took me to the main screen where they say that stocks are critically low – but then you have to log in before you can do anything, even see if there are any appointments available, and of course I didn’t have the donor system log-in details in the car with me! I tried calling the local number for the donor centre but that just connected me to the same system. By this time a bit more time had passed so I hoped the traffic situation might have eased somewhat. I headed for home, stopping on the way to treat myself to an almond croissant to go with my much-needed coffee! If they need my blood they will have to be a bit more enthusiastic about getting it. All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2025.