Dupage Blood Center of Heartland Blood Centers

This is my second visit to a Heartland Blood Center to Donate blood. There are MANY health benefits to donating blood to those in need, google them! :)
Anyway, appointments aren’t necessary as at least two people walked in while I was there without an appointment, but I’d make one anyway. The online process is very easy, and you’ll get reminders via email and sometimes by phone when you’re due to give blood again. I decided to take my lunch hour yesterday so my appointment was at 2:20, and I was back at work a tad after 3:00. The entire process here is quick & efficient, not to mention the staff who work at this location were super friendly as well. Sometimes Heartland gives «perks» like t-​shirts when you donate, this time it’s a «pint for a pint» give a pint of blood and receive a coupon for a free pint of ice cream in return!

I wrote this review on 2−26−11 but I think I put it on the wrong business page. I’ve continued to be impressed by this location of Heartland Blood Centers. Here is the review:
Wow! I have never given blood before, and I was pretty anxious about it. The wonderful staff at Heartland Blood Centers in Winfield made the experience so positive I am actually looking forward to going back and donating again (which I never ever expected).
I tried last week and they (Crystal– so nice) told me they couldn’t let me do it because I had a headache. They were nice about it and explained that it might not be safe for the recipient of my blood (because I could be developing a cold or flu) and might also exacerbate my headache if I went through with it. I appreciated how careful and professional they were about it. This is serious business.
I went back today and was able to donate. I was so impressed by everyone working– they were patient, friendly, informative, professional, positive, likable and careful. They made me feel important and special. It was such a positive and caring place to be. I was really surprised.
Make sure if you have never done this before to bring a list of all out of country travel you have done in the past three years. You will also need your photo ID. Make sure you’ve had a good meal about two hours before going and that you’ve had a lot to drink in the days leading up to going. They have you read some information, fill out a form, and then take you into a room to ask you questions and go over your information. They take your blood pressure, temperature, and then do a finger prick to check your iron level. If all looks good they take you to the donation chair and explain everything thoroughly. I didn’t think that it hurt at all. The regular whole blood donation only took about 8 – 9 minutes. They kept checking in with me making sure I was OK.
After you’re done and you sit in the chair a bit with your arm raised they let you go sit in the waiting area and drink and eat snacks. I love snacks :) so this made me very happy. They have a great selection.
They have rewards programs you can get involved with. They said they’ll let me know after they test my blood if everything is OK. I guess you can donate every 8 weeks or so.
The other thing I thought was cool is that my husband has been donating blood for years at another Heartland Blood Centers location in Westmont, and just came with me for moral support. They treated him super well too, offering him snacks and drinks, and that made me feel good that they were so nice to him.
My husband was really impressed with this location too– he kept saying, «Wow, she (Chaz) was really good.) I guess I could go on and on. I just never thought it would be such a positive experience. I highly recommend this location!