Blood donor finds too many delays

To the editor:

I have rare O-negative (universal donor) blood and try to give blood as often as I am allowed. I have, in fact, been giving blood for over 40 years. At one point, I worked in Jefferson City, Mo., and gave blood frequently. Never, in mid-Missouri, did a blood donation take over 45 minutes. Often it took only half an hour.

The American Red Cross down here, however, puts roadblocks in the paths of people trying to give blood. The ARC claims there is a shortage of donors. This is true. The reason is the direct fault of the ARC.

Earlier this spring, I gave blood, and it took more than two hours. When I was eligible to give again, I went to a second blood drive. There were a lot of people sitting and waiting. Most of them had been there over two hours. After an hour of waiting, no one had interviewed me to get the process going, so I left without giving blood.

Last week, I tried a third time. After waiting 45 minutes without being interviewed, I left. During that time, two different interviewers each took a break, walking nonchalantly past about 15 of us.

The person running all three of these fiascoes assured me that the ARC was doing all it could to speed things up. There is, however, no evidence to back up this claim.

Until the ARC gets organized, it will have to get by without my blood.

BILL HOPKINS, Marble Hill