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by quantumfissure 467 days ago
Where at? Where I live in Pennsylvania, and not the most populated of areas, there are at least 3 groups open all the time for donations (two local Hospital systems and the regional Blood Bank). Plus, there are no less then three mobile blood drives at fire halls; schools; churches; civic centers (i.e. VFW; Lions; Elks, etc...); libraries; etc... seemingly every week. If you don't see signs, you often see it posted in grocery stores, libraries, anywhere a community billboard might be.
1 comments
trashface 467 days ago
Valley forge area, but also up and down montgomery county, I've never seen a dedicated blood bank. If the hospitals are taking blood they aren't advertising that. The local Y has a mobile blood bank occasionally, but I've missed it every time. I never see blood donation ads anywhere except the Y (I would miss ones in churches and most community centers though).
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quantumfissure 467 days ago
Not to be snarky, but I grew up in ChesCo, and could've sworn there were donation centers way back even in the 90's, near KoP and West Chester.

https://www.giveapint.org/ Locations in Pottstown/Exton, plus St Luke's Hospital

Red Cross, lots coming up: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?dt=WB:...

Supposedly CHOP has locations too. They do wonderful work.

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trashface 464 days ago
You grew up in the wealthiest county in the state, some selection bias there. Look on google maps for blood donation center in the philadelphia area. Zoom out to get the suburbs. There are what, 20 or so sites listed, for an area with a population of 6 or 7 million people? That is insufficient. Even now the closest one to me is actually a drug testing site, not a donation center. Its probably at least a 30 minute drive (in bad traffic) to get to the closest listed donation center.

I grew up in lower bucks. There were no dedicated blood centers. Before I was 22 I had never donated at anything but a mobile bloodbank. My parents hauled themselves to mobile blood banks whenever they wanted to do it. The first actual dedicated blood center I donated at was blood centers of the pacific in San Francisco. I was shocked that someone would actually build a dedicated site just for donating blood. But then later I saw Oregon did it too.

Also there's this: https://www.inquirer.com/health/blood-donation-shortage-phil...

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quantumfissure 463 days ago
There was one point I was trying to make, you said there are no locations currently near you, I posted three, plus mobile units.

There is also no selection bias. I said that in the 90's there were several near West Chester and KoP. You say ChesCo is the wealthiest. Wealth in ChesCo is entirely concentrated within the KoP; West Chester; and Valley Forge area. Which would be accurate to what I said. I did not grow up anywhere near there, rather in a very poor region, which is most of the county. It is a large county.

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