No lines, no waiting at this Saturday’s Richmond Beach Blood Drive

The Big Bus can take ten donors at a time -
no lines, no waiting
Come on down!

By Tom Petersen

PSBC Sending Big Bus

The Puget Sound Blood Center is calling on all donors – and their friends – to come donate blood before leaving on Spring Break. The big bus will be in Richmond Beach this Saturday, April 20, in front of the Fire Safety Center at the corner of Richmond Beach Road and 20th Ave NW, from 10am to 4pm.

The large bloodmobile has an extra technician, a dining-room style recovery area and snack counter, a volunteer to dispense the goodies and good cheer, two screening rooms and four beds. With the ability to take ten donors an hour, everybody that wants to donate, plus their Blood Buddies, should be in and out with minimal waiting, and no one should be turned away.

Sign Up or Walk Up

PSBC still recommends making an online appointment so they have an idea of what to expect. It’s understood that on Saturdays, people like to be flexible, so of course walking up is fine. 

Urgent Needs: O neg, A neg, B neg

The rarer blood types are at critically low levels this week, so people with O-, A-, and B- are especially encouraged to come to Richmond Beach, or go to any other PSBC mobile drive in the coming days. There are also permanent storefront donation centers in Lynnwood and North Seattle, open every day.

New Goals for Richmond Beach

Over 36 potential blood donors came to each of the last three Puget Sound Blood Center events in Richmond Beach, but the little bloodmobile could only take 30 in a day. The “Big Unit,” with its capacity of 50, will solve this problem of “coagulation.” This raises new expectations, though: the old neighborhood record was 31, but the PSBC would like to see at least 36 donors Saturday. Local organizers want the full 50, of course!