Love it been going there for about 3 years now! They have…read moresnacks and iPad to watch movies while you donate!

The staff at Canventa really take good care of you by making sure you feel welcomed, heard, and…read morealso making sure that all of your questions are answered. The environment is extremely clean, and staff are attentive and highly communicative. I really appreciate Mariann & Andrew for making my experience smooth and pain free. I went in for a screening done by Andrew and got approved fast for the bone marrow donation. Then scheduled and did my bone marrow 3 weeks later and my PA Lenny and Nurse Mariann made the whole process quick, easy, and as pain free as can be. I was well informed of all the risks and benefits and how I stand to benefit and how others will and I felt that it made me feel more comfortable to donate. Please do check them out if you have the time, energy, and the willingness to do either their bone marrow or white blood cell donation as you will get paid quickly, and be very welcomed. Thanks Andrew, Mariann, Lenny!

As my friends on Yelp might know, I'm a psychiatrist who works in the East Oakland ghetto. Only my…read moreFacebook friends know what's going on right now. We have to sell our house, I have parents in Germany, and I found a great job in Germany working for the US military as a civilian. But they require a whole slew of medical tests and certifications. So I needed the basic CPR stuff again. Being a physician working in psychiatry in an outpatient clinic, I haven't been certified in over 5 years. But I've taken maybe 4 or 5 courses in the past. "Annie, Annie, are you all right?" And the courses were all pretty dry, boring and to the point. Get in, get out! Here's your card. Well, to get certified again I wanted a quick way out. I found an online course. Paid my money, downloaded the material, and actually studied the material and took the test without cheating. I felt great. But, not practical tests. And my future employer said it wasn't approved by the AHA. Duh! My bad. So then I signed up for a "real" class online. Location was San Leandro. Got three confirmation/reminders. Showed up and no one was there. (See my previous yelp review.) Finally I signed up online with the Red Cross. Had to wait several weeks but got this great Alameda location. Now to the bottom line: this was the best course I've ever taken for CPR/BCLS. The intructor Aaron was awesome. He really cared about helping people. He made it interesting. He challenged us with questions and decisions, but he never judged us. He is an excellent teacher providing positive feedback and encouragement. I can highly recommend this course for anyone, amateur or health care provider. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and was encouraged to review the skills I learned. A job well done, Aaron and American Red Cross.

Just went through the full day of training on Adult CPR, AED and First Aid training... yup, you are…read morelooking at an American Red Cross Certified. The location can be pretty hard to find, since it is really setting in the middle of no where (a.k.a. abandoned Naval Base since the 80s) If you are here for training, remember to bring lunch. Because, there is absolutely nutting right next to this facility and there is no way you can just "walk" to any where that's near by~ so, come prepared. The course really is NOT that boring~ It's long, but quit fulfilling. The activity is enough to keep you busy throughout the hours. The intense repetition of the CPR chest pumping in TWO minutes can really get some work out done!! From 9 to 5, from the basics of CPR procedure to the AED treatment. You really can't miss out an action~! Certification comes with the completion of the course AND two exams. Tough task~! Lot's of stress~! High Demand~! ............... lol Its not like I can go serve in the ER now, but I do have that sense of confidence as I had the opportunity to grasp better understanding, preparation and awareness in case of any accident or emergency. The instructor equipes with GREAT experience, and she was very patient, quit witt and helpful. It was a great experience~ Now I Am Certified~! I am READY to SAVE Tha World~!!!!!

I given galoons of blood in my lifetime. But until this week I have had n experience giving plasma…read more The Octapharma experience has been mostly excellent so far. Every draw has been clean and neat. And performed in such a way that the extraction point was quickly healed. The first experience was excellent. And so was the second visit. The only minus so far was one day with a long line and not enough people at the check-in desk. A small thing for sure. Easy to find. Plenty of parking. Easy proteins in reach at other local restaurants after the visit. If you're thinking about donating, I recommend you give Octapharma consideration.

Ouch, where do I start?…read more Just avoid this place. Dirty, and looks like a crackhead meetup. Their online appointments aren't up to date so even if you have an appointment they may not take you. It's a shitshow. Try someplace else.

The PPA in Berkeley procures blood and bone marrow for research with payment "for your time". They…read moreschedule donors during the mornings on Monday-Thursday so the products can be shipped fresh to the contracting laboratories. Plan to spend quite a while at the first visit filling out your medical history, including any prescriptions you take. If you pass the written screening, small samples of blood will be taken and tested for HIV and hepatitis. Once they are screened, which takes a business day, they will call to schedule your donation. A great thing: if you had questionable historyy from your distant past such that the Red Cross will not accept your blood, it will not disqualify you from donating as long as you never contracted anything. Nawid at the front desk and Barbie who explains and takes the blood are both very personable and effective. A doctor takes the bone marrow from two points in the hip bones. PPA prefers consistent donors, and will call you to ask if you'd like to come in again at the time blood or bone marrow has been replenished in your body. Payment is made in cash immediately afterwards, and was much more than the amount listed on the agreement form which must be signed at each donation. That amount may have been for plasma donation in their TN office. Rather than donate plasma, if you want to help medical science and yourself financially as well, I highly recommend PPA!

I donated whole blood at this Vitalant blood donation location last Friday morning. The last time…read moreI donated blood was back in 2009 at this same location when it used to be Blood Center of the Pacific. I was so happy when the front desk receptionist Denise was able to retrieve the records of my previous visits on her computer. Denise was very friendly and helpful. The medical staff, I think her name was Keisha, was very friendly when she spoke with me in the interview room and very skillfully trained when she both prepared me for and performed my blood transfusion. The whole procedure took about 15 minutes and there was no pain or discomfort. After my transfusion, I entered the snack area and had a few bags of free snacks and a bottle of water, as was recommended. I had a very pleasant visit at Vitalant. I feel really good for having donated blood because my blood can be available for people who really need it.

The blood donation itself was fine. Being barraged with emails, paper mail, phone calls & low…read morequality voicemails was not fine...I had to remove myself from their lists multiple times, and when I emailed "Susan" directly letting her know the non-stop pressure to donate was excessive, she responded with "sure, we can remove you from our communications. Also, let me know what day and time works for you to come donate again." I was baffled. They're relentless and it only made me want to never deal with them again. I won't be donating through them anymore.

Donating blood has been one of the things on my bucket list and I'm glad I opted for this location!…read moreIt's located in a little plaza with a lot of parking. I made an appointment online to make the process quicker, but after checking in I still waited for another 40 minutes since they were really busy. A nice Filipina lady did my assessment and she helped to ease my anxiousness since it was my first time donating! I ended up doing the whole blood donating, so the entire process took less than 10 minutes. The facility itself is a little small but very clean so that you can relax for a bit after your donation. I would definitely come back to this location for future donations, especially because of the great care quality!

I've been donating whole blood for many years and about 3 years ago started to donate platelets…read moreafter my father needed them. As much as it hard to sit still for up to 3 hours, my body allows me to do this so why not help in saving lives? The staff here is great, I get to binge watch new shows and unlimited snacks and juices! Parking is easy so no excuses!

Glenda, Luz, Anne and gang provide a comfortable environment and of course great snacks for my…read morequarterly visits. Sometimes it gets cold and they provide blankets or other things to make you feel comfortable. The place is clean, parking is easy, and it is a good way to check your blood pressure, hemoglobin levels, etc

This blood donation location opened in early 2022, which is not well known to many. It is still new…read morelooking, less cramped, brightly lit, with a welcoming staff. The hours are also very accommodating (e.g., open on weekends, won't turn you away if you arrive at a reasonable time, etc.). The center is easy to find since off 19th Ave., and is at the back/side of Stonestown Galleria Shopping Center with plenty of parking: outdoor next to the center, steps away by a Subway and SF Fire Credit Union, or across the street at the City Sports Club and Sports Basement store.

The staff here are amazing personnel and very competent in their work. It is always a wonderful…read moreexperience to come in and be greeted by my first name. I've had no issues They are very professional and I recommend this site if you want to donate plasma.

The staff is extremely slow here. Patients are waiting with no updates, no apologies for the short…read morestaff and long waits. Some patients come in reeking of marijuana and nothing is said. Overall, just not the best experience & not worth the headache and inconvenience.

I come every 8 weeks to donate blood and have done so for a couple of years. It is the easiest way…read moreto save a life. You make an appointment online. The facility is clean, full of natural light, and there are always fun seasonal decorations. The check in processs is easy. The snacks are good. If you bike there, they let you bring your bike into a secure room off the lobby downstairs--and I think there's a voucher program for parking now.

I donated platelets at this facility today. The staff was so friendly and professional. During the…read moreprocedure, I was surprisingly comfortable considering I had needles in both arms. Not only did I have a nice view of the outdoors but each chair has its own TV. I could Netflix and chill while my blood went out one arm, got separated into components of which some were returned to me in the other arm. I feel like my blood was laundered. : ) Departed feeling full with good karma and cookies.

Friendly staff and clean environment. I love the way they always make me feel comfortable…read more Erika, always greets me and everyone with a smile. She will explain what you need to do and she does it so nicely. I forgot the gentleman who took my info in the office. He was funny, patient and very thorough. Nahid, was my angel. She's drawn my blood several times with no problem. She has gentle hands and let's me crack jokes. Donating blood is my way of giving back and I encourage you all to do the same. Book your appointment now. They're in need of donors. There are plenty of snacks and beverages after you're done which I'm thankful and grateful for. Go online or call to make your appointment. Thank you!

IMPORTANT! This location is NOT safe for trans people. My wife came to donate and instead was…read moresubject to a humiliation ritual regarding her gender. The staff were extremely disrespectful and unkind. She left in tears without donating. We are sharing to hopefully prevent any other trans people from having to experience such cruel interactions while trying to donate blood.