Vitalant Blood Donation- Spokane

Kate Thompson

The staff was super nice, however the phlebotomist punctured something that was not my vien and has left my arm exceptionally sore. He tried my other arm, and after playing with the needle for a minute or two in my arm my blood began to clot halfway through the donation. If he didn't feel competent to stick me with the needle he should have asked for assistance. Instead he wasted two hours of my time and money on equipment. I have donated blood countless times with the red cross and never experienced the issues I had donating with vitalant.

Zach Nichols

I came in to donate blood in January for my very first time and was very excited to help people through my donation. I had hoped to start doing it regularly as a way of giving back. The phlebotomist who took my blood was relatively new and when she put in the needle, I got a fiery burning sensation in my arm like someone hit me on my "funny bone". I winced and told the nurse it didn't feel normal. I have had a plenty of blood draws in my time and never had I experienced such pain. After letting her know of my discomfort, she replied that "it's fine the pain will go away." To which I replied that it was not normal but she said again that it should be fine in a couple seconds. After about 5 minutes, she told me that the blood was not coming very fast and asked to adjust the needle. I told her i'd prefer if she didn't as my arm was still in pain but said if she absolutely had to she could. After saying that, she adjusted the needle while it was still in my arm and I almost screamed out in pain and said that it hurt super bad and that the fiery feeling had returned ten fold. She literally said, "you are fine, just give it time again and it will be better." I felt like she was talking to a child and it was very demeaning. When the blood draw was done, she removed the needle and the pain returned even worse than before. I was visibly wincing and told her it hurt and that my fingers and arm were tingling. She told me to lift my arm above my head and I about passed out from the pain. She told me to wait a day and that the pain should go away so I left thinking that she was the professional and must know what she was talking about. The next day I woke up and got out of bed and instantly fell to the floor holding my arm and screaming in pain. When I straightened my arm, I felt the most painful electric shock and burning feeling that went all the way from my shoulder into my arm and was centered around the part where she made the draw from. I could not straighten my arm past about 100 degrees without this sensation. I called back in and finally got ahold of someone to talk to. They brought me in and I told them my story. They said that this should have never happened and that they were sorry and would "talk to the phlebotomist" about her demeaning response. They offered to pay for any out of pocket expenses (which I had none since I had insurance of course... and I'm sure they knew that) and gave me a free coupon for a pizza which I didn't even care about or need. All I wanted was to get better as quickly as possible. The head doctor there told me that it should get better within a couple weeks and that the phlebotomist definitely hit my nerve. I had to get an arm brace that limited my motion and wore it for a month and a half before I could get away without it and straighten my arm to near full. Fast forward to the present, six months later, and my arm still tingles when touched and the feeling still has not returned. So why, now, after all this time and I writing this review? To be honest, I am at an absolute loss of what to do. I have tried a ton of things to make it better and followed all the doctor's orders but feel very defeated and think I will have to live with this for the rest of my life. Not only so but the thought of getting blood drawn or donated makes me so anxious, I don't think I'll ever do it again unless I have to. The amount of anxiety I get just thinking about it is going to be a huge hurdle for me to overcome. I am sad that this happened and wish that it would just go away. Please, if you get blood drawn, don't be afraid to tell them NO, STOP if you feel like something is not right and make sure to get someone experienced. I know that this sort of thing can happen but what the phlebotomist did by not listening and adjusting the needle while it was still in my arm (likely in or touching my nerve) is not ok and is the cause of the extent of my pain. Because of her and her dismissive response and lack of empathy, I may have to live with this the rest of my life.

Ross Gileau

Sunny and Mike are amazing phlebotomists and do an amazing job with blood draws (painless), and also are SO polite and professional that I wouldn’t even think of donating anywhere else. They are there on a Sunday so I can donate and I’m so grateful. Love this place!!!

Athena Dunham

Always amazing customers service. The nurses & blood drawers are very nice, skilled & fairly quick. With that being said is does sometimes take up to an hour to get into a chair to get drawn. This happens whether you have an appt or not. Please be prepared to wait, it is for a good cause. Thank you INBC