Carter BloodCare

This is by far one of the cleanest, nicest blood donation centers I’ve ever visited, Carter or otherwise. The hours are delightful since you can come at 8am on a Saturday or a Sunday, so even if you can’t get away from work Monday through Friday, you can still donate on the weekends. It’s worth nothing, this location is closed Thursday and Friday. The staff were incredibly friendly, welcoming and helpful. The woman working at reception even offered my friend and I water or PowerAde while we waited to be taken back for screening. This isn’t our usual location because we don’t live in the area but were visiting with family, but I certainly recommend anyone in this area stop in, raise your sleeve, and save at least 3 lives every 8 weeks! Parking is free and abundant as the location is surrounded by other businesses, and walk-​ins are welcomed as well as scheduled appointments.

I’ve now donated 8 gallons of blood (this is quite a bit of platelet donations too) at Carter Blood Care. I’m generally pretty happy with the staff here, but turnover seems to be high. It seems every time I get used to a phlebotomist, the next time I come in they are gone. For whole blood donations this is no big deal, but when it comes to platelets, I really like to feel comfortable with the person doing the stick. Generally I look past all the shortcomings as I’m doing this to help others, not be overly critical of the staff… And I have seen Carter make improvements over the years, so generally things have gotten better, not worse. My favorite new change is gone are the t-​shirts. Now you earn points, which you can spend on t-​shirts, or save them up for something bigger and better, or even donate them back if you choose.
So as long as my veins hold up, yeah, I’m a fan.
PS. Note that Friday hours are for the 2^nd and last week of the month.