Rhode Island Blood Center

I regularly donate platelets here and the staff is pretty fantastic! Since you’re there for a couple of hours sometimes with platelets, they’re always attentive with making sure you’re comfortable while donating. The staff is friendly and easy to talk with as well!

This is my favorite RI Blood Center location. They renovated it a couple of years ago so it’s a very modern facility, parking is easy as they have their own coverage garage, the staff is friendly, and afterwards you can eat cookies and drink HFCS-​filled fruit juices to your heart’s content (I tend to stick to the Gatorade). I’m usually sick afterwards because I OD on the cookies; the actual blood donation itself is easy as pie and unless you have non-​existent veins you should consider donating as it really does help to save lives.
I do the double red cell donation which means they hook me up to a machine and just take the red blood cells instead of everything. It takes a bit longer but it’s more useful to them and I have longer periods between donations. I’m also O– so I’m a universal king in the world of blood donations… a king!

This is THE Blood Center Mecca for the Rhode Island Blood Center as I’ve been told my one of the staff here. Not my typical donation spot, but had to come here to get my blood tested due to high platelet count which was odd. I could have done it somewhere else but since all testing seems to take place here why not go to the source?
I was a bit annoyed about getting here since it is located near the busy Mall on a one way street so it was quite a trip on a Friday afternoon rush hour. Once there it was interesting to see the Blood Center parking lot and exterior which made it look like a warehouse, but inside it’s a modern and well maintained looking hospital feel.
While they lack the comfy chairs for platelet donors and the free computer use that I see at the Warwick facility, it doesn’t appear to deter donors from coming here. In addition to the typical blood donation apparently they also handle bone marrow transplants and the lab for testing is a building over.
Friendly staff and a fully stocked refreshment area for donors makes this place just as good as other blood centers. Also I can see that right afterwards people can go mall shopping right afterwards since the mall is less than half a mile away.

A wonderful place with a great staff. I’ve always been a needle-​phobe, but finally donated blood. NO regrets, experience was great, phlebotomist was great, will donate again. And again.
Blood collected by the RIBC is mainly for RI recipients. Some of it is shipped out if another state is in need, as opposed to the Red Cross, which collects here but what they collect is NOT primarily for Rhode Islanders! Just an FYI…
So the RIBC gets 5+ stars, but regretfully I can’t go any higher.

What a lovely experience! I decided to donate and headed over to the RI Blood Center where I was greeted in a friendly manner which continued throughout my visit.
I felt comforted to know that I was in good hands of knowledgeable professionals and would be just fine during this nerve racking experience. Overall it was a lovely experience and I will def go back to donate there when I’m eligible again.
Best part of my experience was the sincere ”thank yous” that I got from everyone that i encountered at the center. It made me feel very good for what I was doing and appreciated.

There are those who are otherwise willing to donate blood and yet have difficulty scheduling an appropriate time. The demands of checking in, having some manner of wait, and then completing the donation are frequently more of a deterrent in one’s mind than the true time commitment ends up being. RIBC and their staff are excellent at mitigating that problem, calling with (truly, authentically) friendly reminders of your eligibility, options for where you can donate close by, and occasionally bending the rules of time to get a convenient slot in the day for you to donate. I’ve always appreciated that, even as I split my donations between here and in my workplace.
Beyond all that, get past your very first impression, which will be the garage area’s decrepit façade — this facility is beautiful, commodious, and modern inside, and I love coming here to do a little bit of good. The waiting area is welcoming, spacious, and rarely full. The intake/​triage area is appropriately simplistic and efficient. The donation center is state-​of-​the-​art, inviting, and pleasantly lit. The recovery/​replenishment section is well-​stocked and comfortable. The staff is well-​trained, friendly, and frequently quite funny.
This was a good experience for a great cause before they renovated, but doing a good deed by donating blood at the most recent incarnation of the RIBC is a genuinely great experience for the same great cause. That they actually work above and beyond to occasionally reward donors with major league sports tickets, beautiful artwork by local artists, and the always-​gratifying «one gallon,» «two gallon,» «three gallon…» commemorative donation coffee mugs is just icing on the cake, and the sign of a strong organization doing all it can to drive support for a life-​saving cause.
Kudos to them for their efficiency, friendliness, and accommodating attitude, and kudos to you for finishing this review and calling for an appointment today!

Geez, I’d never thought about reviewing a blood center, but Cherie M’s review inspired me!
I don’t have much more to add to what she said so eloquently. I always feel so comfortable here. You can tell the staff really cares about one another. I’ve been to the center in Woonsocket, but I like this one a lot better.