As someone that regularly donates blood - this is my first time donating at CHOC (Children's Hospital of Orange County). It was an awesome experience - made extra awesome by the caring people that work there! Normally, you can walk-into this office same-day - but they are currently running a shirt promo for October 2025 - where you can get a super adorable t-shirt with Chocobear on it - if you donate. I may or may not have been lured to donate at CHOC for my first time ever due to this kickass shirt. Anyway, because of the promo, they aren't taking same-day appointments, but you can book an appointment through their online calendar found here - https://choc.org/blood-donations/ I was warmly greeted when I walked into the Blood Donor Center - located on the first floor of the CHOC Commerce Tower. Note: This building is across La Veta Avenue from CHOC Hospital. It's on the same floor as the Urgent Care clinic. They do validate up to two hours if you park in the Commerce Tower parking structure. Marco assisted me throughout my visit - first checking my vitals and Hgb to ensure I had sufficient levels to donate (I did). They have you fill out a detailed questionnaire before taking you back to the donation room - full of comfy chairs, pillows, blankets, TVs. Marco was very gentle and skilled - he was able to find a viable vein and draw blood on his first poke - this is a feat that I have to admit, is tough for most skilled techs to draw blood from me. The donation itself if you're giving whole blood, takes about 10-ish minutes. Make sure you drink a lot of clear fluids the DAY BEFORE, and day of your donation, and of course - after your donation. Marco offered me my choice of juice, and a tasty Snickerdoodle cookie while he monitored me for any post-donation complications (I had none). I left feeling pleasant, with an awesome Halloween-themed Chocobear blood donor shirt - and already have my next donation appointment scheduled for December - where they have an equally awesome holiday-themed Chocobear long-sleeved shirt. Awesome visit! Give blood if you are able to! Not everyone is able to - and that's okay. Spread the word! While you never meet your recipient, you can rest assured knowing your blood goes to a great cause - I mean it's CHOC!!! read more

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I have donated blood and platelets for the past 3+ years and will continue to do so. The staff makes you feel like family and they take very good care of you. The nurses that stick the needle in do an excellent job, rarely feel it and they make sure you are always comfortable. read more

Marissa is incredibly knowledgeable and makes the process easy and educational! Donation is by appointment only so be sure to call ahead.

After a brief hiatus from doing my personal charity work, I've decided to start giving back to my community. MY NEW HOME! I've donated my blood/platelets for many years with a reputable organization. With me moving to Orange County, I've decided to give to another organization more specifically to children. Although, I will never know who receives my donation, I can narrow it down to a specific demographic: CHILDREN. Let's donate a piece of myself to Children's Hospital of Orange County - Blood and Donor Services. **PLEASE NOTE: Donor Services is not in the same building as CHOC Hospital** Located on the southeast corner of Main and W La Veta, you will find Blood and Donor Services at the Children's Hospital of Orange County - Commerce Tower. Parking is outside next to the building. Do not park at any of the garages. I made a mistake and paid $6 by parking at the St. Joseph's Hospital Associate Parking. You can get free parking when you get your ticket validated at the CHOC - Blood and Donor Services Offices. When you walk in, look for Suite 185. Before coming in, please call their office as they highly recommend setting up an appointment. You can call them at 714-509-8339 or email at donatebloodforkids@choc.... . Their hours are limited to the weekdays. Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 5:30pm. Hopefully, if more people read this review and donate, CHOC can extend hours and days into the weekends. I hope so because donation is more than just a Monday through Friday deal. Its an every deal. I spoke with Gloria who was able to accommodate same day appointments for me. I walked in and was greeted by Colleen. She told me that my nurse was out for a little break and I decided to use the restroom down the hall. Before you donate, make sure you had a well balanced meal and drank a lot of fluids before you donate. Strength is one key for a successful donation. I came back and was greeted by Juanita. Since this was my first time here, I had to fill out a new donor form. After filling out, Juanita did my vitals and hemoglobin test. Once you have completed the vitals, you will answer a questionnaire on the computer regarding yourself. Once you have completed, onwards to "THE CHAIR". Both whole blood and platelet donations take place in here. Sit back, relax, and let Juanita or the staff take care of you.The process will take about 10-15 minutes depending on fast blood comes out. As for the platelet donation, from experience, it can take about 1.5-2 hours depending on the machine. There are TVs in the room while you wait and I believe you can watch DVDs as well. At the end, you'll get your free treats and drink on your way out. In this case, I got Peanut Butter Cookies with Cranberry Juice. It is always a delicious treat and very rewarding. Both your body, spirit and, more importantly, the KIDS! For once or multiple times, donate to Children's Hospital of Orange County. Trust me, those kids will love you for being part of their lives. Yelp...I Live, Breathe, and Share my Reviews for everyone to read. Come Join Me! read more

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Give a little to make a big difference :) Alena greeted me with a smile as soon as I walked in thru the door. Was given a few sheets of papers to fill out and was quickly placed in a chair. Got a iron test done prior to see if I was eligible. She asked if I had donated before and if I knew the procedure. She was very calm and patient which is a great thing for those that have a fear of needles and aren't accustomed to seeing blood. Was a pleasant experience and I urge anyone in the surrounding areas to come and donate here. Working at this hospital has made realize that children appreciate all the little things. A pint of your blood can make a big difference in a child's life so don't hesitate and go give a piece of life :) read more

I'm a frequent platelet donor, so location and service mean a lot to me. I was very pleasantly surprised with my experience here. Staff were very friendly. Pro: friendly staff, convenient location close to freeway, has parking area with validation. I liked that the nurse used lidocaine to numb the injection site for my platelet donation. It's a small luxury but made for a pleasant start to my donation. Also they use the machines that only require a needle in one arm, meaning that I can use the other to write this review! Con: some platelet donation locations have movies and individual TV screens. Didn't see that here but I don't need them. They do have a few TVs but not one per bed. Parking was a tad tricky to find as well. Your best bet is to approach from the south, cross over the 22 and look out for the sign for the CHOC commerce tower by a small driveway into a small parking structure. It's past the huge CHOC employee parking structure. Once you're in the parking structure getting to the donor center is easy! The door is immediately after you enter the commerce tower 1st floor from the parking area. :) Definitely returning. Also the cookies the have are awesome! read more

I came here on the recommendation of the first review. The Lady at the desk was nice and friendly. I was able to fill out my paperwork easily. Then the lady flattered me by telling me my resting heart rate was perfect and ideal. Thanks gym. As soon as my blood pressure and hemoglobin level was taken I was taken to the donor area very promptly. I was greeted by the nurse and asked which arm I preferred my blood to be withdrawn from. She gave me the lido cane as I watched. The tapped my large vein. Blood moved smoothly. Then she told me she need to take samples. Tapped me again. bruised me and then moved to my other arm. It was no problem. Cookies, Juice. 15 minute wait. I was thanked and left. I will return in two months. It felt great to give a gift that cost nothing but time. read more

This place is so helpful. They make giving blood a pleasant experience. I love that they honor the people who frequently give blood here. They also gave me a gift certificate to In and Out. read more

CHOC Children's - Blood and Donor Services - Lovely staff. Once in the seat it took 10 minutes tops. - Medical Centers Near Me - Orange, California

I decided on donating blood to CHOC in the hopes that my rare blood type will help a child. The feeling of not being welcomed began when I made my appointment over the phone. I considered cancelling my appointment and going back to Hoag where they are a million times more friendly and even grateful to their donors but I figured my cause is greater than my ego so I went to my appointment. When I walked in, I already felt as though I was inconveniencing the person at the front. There were signs everywhere about the hospital needing platelets and so when I asked about it, it seemed as though it was a hassle for them. I really considered walking out when I had to disclose my international travels to the front office personnel who kept huffing and puffing every time I named off a place which I didn't understand since this was one of their questions that I answered honestly and thoroughly as per their requirement. I can see how this blatant show of disrespect can make any sane person walk out but I stood strong in getting it done. When I finally went to the back to get my blood drawn, the feeling of being unwelcome and a hassle continued with the nurse who drew my blood. If you can get beyond the feeling of being a hassle then I say come here to donate blood since the facility is clean and the chairs and comfortable but if you can't then Hoag is by far the best place to donate. read more

Everything about this place is amazing. The staff is incredible and friendly. It has been very easy for me to make appointments. They call to remind you which is a big plus for me. They use a local anesthetic and I don't even feel the needle stick and I've never gotten a bruise from here. The whole blood process takes less than an hour. The blood goes directly to CHOC patients which means a lot to me. CHOC has saved my life many times and it makes me so happy knowing I can do my part every few weeks to help other kids at CHOC. I can't begin to describe how grateful I am for a place like this!!! read more

The first time I came here to donate blood, I wasn't able to but all the staff were helpful, patient, and efficient. Today I was able to give! Yay! This is the beginning of a new way to help others. Terri was who took care of me and she was fabulous from beginning to end. The ladies who were there today were all kind, professional, and efficient. The facilities are really nice. For the first time since I've donated blood these last few years (not with CHOC) I didn't feel like I was going to pass out. They have the right technique. I appreciate you CHOC blood donation staff! read more

Renee made the experience very comfortable! I browsed around other places to donate and i saw people getting multiple bruises, so i was a little nervous. Nope, no bruises and the comfortable chair and tv made thing easy to handle. At the end of the process, they gave me a a cookie and some juice.. all the staff were also very friendly! read more

I love the staff here. They're caring, polite, and professional. They thoroughly answered all the questions I had about the donation process and they'll always address any discomforts you might have while donating. If you're donating whole blood you'll be in and out real quick. So make an appointment today! It's the easiest way to save 3 lives! Why donate here? (This is just my opinion.) Children's Hospitals generally rely more on government funding/payments than other types of hospitals and the government generally pays much lower rates than private insurance companies. That means Children's Hospitals usually struggle more to find funding for all the wonderful things they do. I donate to CHOC because I believe they could use the donation more than better funded organizations. (Buying blood from the Red Cross is surprisingly more expensive than what many people think.) If nothing else, it feels great to know your donation is going to help save sick infants/kids. They can usually accommodate same day appointments. Make sure to get your parking validated for FREE PARKING. And they have FRESH BAKED COOKIES!!! I'm not an employee or paid by CHOC. I just donate regularly and I wanted to encourage everyone to donate. read more

Unfriendly, inconsiderate staff. Very uncomfortable experience.

Love this place. They are all so nice. Once you donate they don't harass you, they do encourage you to donate and call to remind you but a no is usually enough. I've run late and they've still squeezed me in. They give you a cookie or juice and milk. Gentle no pain or discomfort when blood is drawn. read more

Talk about feeling unwanted. I've been donating every 56 days like clockwork since I was a senior in high school. I donated at St. Joseph hospital across the street until 2014 when their blood donor center closed up shop due to not having enough donors. I was told by them that I should reach out to CHOC since they always need blood. As I love children and am a contributor to CHLA, I thought it would be great to give to my local kids so I went over there. My first visit there I was turned away and told that I need to make an appointment each time which was a bit inconvenient for me because I donate when I have time and sometimes it's when I'm passing by. I agreed to make one and come back. The next time, I was faced with a very moody front desk lady who was anything but friendly and made me feel not only unwelcome, but rather uncomfortable. I waited for what seemed like eternity even after filling out the document and was then ushered into a room to do my pre-testing and then taken to Nurse Pepper who did my whole blood donation and was very nice and sweet. Except for Pepper who was so upbeat, everyone else in the office seemed down and moody. I called to make another appointment 56 days later and was told that they didn't have any openings. I moved some things around and finally got an appointment which I had to cancel due to an emergency and when I called to tell them, the lady was very abrupt and short with me. I got a call from them about a month later soliciting me for a donation and I let them know about my terrible experiences and how I had no desire to donate there again and how sad it made me because I hate the idea of donating to a certain well known RED _____ place because they sell the blood at a markup to the hospital and I would rather do it directly at a hospital. It's sad that this was my experience and I hope that others don't have this. Those of us who donate especially those who donate as regularly as I do which is every 2 weeks for platelets donation do it because we care. We don't do it for any other reason. We take time out of our lives and schedule and make it a point to give. It would be nice to be afforded some respect, kindness, and appreciation. read more

Donating blood was a great experience. It was smooth and efficient with a wonderful staff. Gloria at the front desk is awesome.

Such a great experience! I've always donated with American Red Cross and this place blows them out of the water. Super comfy chairs. Super nice staff. They even numb your arm prior to drawing blood and you get a delicious cookie when you're done (pulled from a Rubbermaid container, not a bag). I will definitely be coming back! read more