Red Cross Blood Donor Centre

The volunteers and staff here are absolute angels! I’m not a fan of needles but I’ve never felt uncomfortable or scared here. Everyone is so kind and encouraging I actually get excited when ever I know I have an appointment. The free milkshake and biscuits is a huge plus as well.
If you’re eligible, make an appointment and roll up your sleeves. You might feel a little lightheaded later but it’s all for a good cause :)

Got blood? These guys will take it*!
Having blood drained from your body is not the most fun of activities. Personally, I’ve got a bit of a thing going on with being grossed out by needles. Like, a big thing. It’s a bit of a problem, actually. Luckily for me, the staff at the Red Cross Blood Donor Centre are well experienced with scardeycat girlymen like me. They talk me through the process, don’t mind when I don’t look at the thing stuck into my arm and then fill me full of snacks afterwards. That’s right; there’s free snacks! Although in most cases I would consider paying for food with my blood to make for quite an expensive snack, given as though blood donors are generally here out of altruism, I’m going to count it as free. You can score fruit cake, cheese and crackers, tea and coffee and powdered milkshakes.
Food, drink and the warm fuzzy feeling (and occasional enjoyable light-​headedness) that comes from blood donation?! What a winning combo! Sign me up for it on the regular, stat!
*: So long as you pass their initial blood tests and screening.