I've always found it really strange that blood and plasma donation are not done through hospitals and medical centers, but at the same time i could see it being hard, since most hospitals (especially ER's) are already grossly understaffed and backed up on work, so adding more work and responsibility would be difficult.
I've donated plasma several times and at various places in life, and some of the facilities i have gone to were questionable at best (so bad i would not even give to a couple places). Others were fairly nice. Though the Carter buses have to be my least favorite, and by far the shadiest. Had a guy trying ignore my mention that "i have rollers and hiders, so make sure you anchor it well.." as i tell every phlebotomist.
He didn't mark it well enough, nor anchor it, and though i had showed him where they usually had the most success with the least effort, he insisted he could get this other, much smaller vein closer to the crease on the inside of my elbow. as he misses it, bursting the vein, he starts prodding, poking and digging around. I don't mean your typical "maybe it's a little to the left, maybe it's a little to the right, there it is!" no. This guy was digging like he was BP and had found the mother of all reservoirs. He's jabbing and stabbing and i suddenly feel the needle work it's way underneath what felt like maybe one of my tendons or some ligament then jerk upwards, like he was trying to pluck it. Searing pain shot up and down my arm, and i could feel like a tingle, like i'd been shocked, in my elbow. i still feel shooting pain from time to time, though not as bad and this has been about 5 years or so now.
Up til he'd struck a nerve (literally) i was slightly uncomfortable, but not too bothered by it; i had donated several times and was used to people having to dig to hit me, and even though he was a bit rougher and taking a bit longer, i just assumed he was fairly new and still learning or something. But when he started playing my joints like a jimi hendrix solo in his efforts to hit me, that made me a lot more uncomfortable. I have a strong pain tolerance, so i just grit my teeth and made a loud, growling "mmMMMMmm!!!" and said "okay, that hurt. let's not do that." and as he removes the needle he was like, "omg i could feel that that was weird are you okay i'm so sorry!" and i told him "no that really hurt, i think you burst the vein and hit a nerve!" and he basically just kept apologizing and instead of sending me on my way, he was like, "well do you want to try the other arm instead?" i wanted my damn cookies, they always had nutter butters and oreos which are both my favorites, plus they'd let us grab a couple gatorades. "sure."
Now, I have a fear of needles, but i like to know that i may be helping someone, or saving a life, so i put up with it, but i never tend to watch too much, just maybe a few glances here and there. So i'd not really looked too much at it up to this point. as i get up to switch to the other side of the bus, i stop and take a good, long look at the inside of my elbow where he'd been excavating nerve endings, and it was already black and blue with yellow and red around it. But i really wanted those nutter butters, and i really do like knowing i gave, and knowing i could be helping someone. So i jumped up on the other side in their laying/sitting bed/chair things, and let this guy get me on my other arm i told him this time, "You will hit right here this time." and showed him the "track mark" i have from giving my last few blood donations (i try to do it as often as possible) and he actually hit it first try that time, no trouble, and i had a successful donation. the guy felt so bad he gave me double the snacks, double the gatorade, and a shirt! It was a miserable time, and i had to keep the bandage on for a lot longer than usual, and had swelling for a few days after, but it eventually healed up and i was able to give the next time Carter came.
I never let the experience bother me, nor stop me from donating again. I know he wasn't trying to hurt me or anything. I would still encourage people to donate, and keep in mind this was just one off occurrence; it's never happened to me before, nor has it happened since.