How can I claim for travel expenses to give Blood?

[JonnyBoy12]

Not sure if this is the right category, but here goes anyway. I used to give blood platelets in the city of Birmingham, as up til very recently I had a free travel pass to go anywhere. This has now been taken from me, and I am curtly told that I can not claim back travel expenses to get there and back. So now I will be penalised for my kindness. I am on a very low income (none at all) at the moment, and can not afford the 17 pound plus return fare. I was just wondering if there is any charity which could pay this, as there seems to be a charity for just about anything nowadays, or is there a way of getting the patient to pay for this, as they are the ones benefitting from this. For those of you who do not yet know, blood donors (and platelet donors) in this country are not paid, and as I have said they are now made to pay their own way there and back.

Okay, then rant over, and sorry to be a pain, but I really can not afford to pay my own way there and back. Are any of you other ABers in a similar position?

Thanks in advance for any replies. JB12

[mike11111]

That seems very harsh. I won't ask why you have lost your pass so all I can suggest is is there somewhere local or a mobile clinic where you can donate? I don't feel you should be out of pocket for this.

[bednobs]

hiya - perhaps you can find somewhere closer to you to go to instead? If you needed an emergency blood/platelet transfusion, how would you like it if they said, " you need to pay the travel expenses of the donor first"?

[bednobs]

or perhaps give up giving blood for a bit till you're aorking, or give blood rather than platelets (i believe you can do this in more places)

[jack daniels]

Is there a local hospital/surgery or clinic that can offer you this service?

Anna x

[Invictas]

I am sorry that your pass has been withdrawn,BUT it is not the responsibility of the the Blood Transfusion Service to worry how you get there(or how much it costs you) to give blood,that is up to you to decide.
Why not contact them and find out if there is a centre nearer to you?
If there is not then (sadly) you will either have to stop giving blood,or pay for the transport.

[LazyGun]

I am curious - What was the travel pass you had,and who withdrew it from you and why?
Regarding platelet donations;
1.Platelet donations have become much more important over the last decade. Used to support treatments of leukaemia or cancer for example, and can become very important in major trauma surgery to replace those lost through extensive bleeding.
2. The process of platelet donation is plasmapheresis, which requires fairly specialised equipment - can not be used in a mobile collection system.
3. The process of plasmapheresis is a process that is different from a standard blood donation and requires more supervision and support - another reason why it is not appropriate in an mobile clinic environment,

Only other thing I can think of is to see if any kind soul living locally to you would be willing to drive you in and back - maximum number of platelet donations annually would be around 6 times per year, if memory serves.

[gjcurtainman]

Platelet donations cost the Blood Service around £350 each (factoring in equipment costs, staff, transport and everything else). Platelets are becoming increasingly important, and it seems odd that the NHS won't pay reletively low travel expenses to ensure that a regular platelet donor continues donating. I am in a similar position- I moved house last year and I am now around 60 miles from my nearest centre. This means that I have to do a 120 mile round trip (totalling around 3 1/2 to 4 hours including the donation time), and it costs me about £20-£25 in petrol and tolls to get there and back. Fortunately I am working, but my financial position is not great and moving house last year has made it even worse. Frankly an extra £25 month would not go amiss and I am considering stopping my donations.