Perhaps the Red Cross should take a BIG tip from the supermarket industry, and allow for impulse buys (in other words, walk-ins) As a college student I used to contibute as often as possible, mainly because they came on campus for a day and I could walk in between classes, or whenever the impulse hit me. Nowadays, even in the days after 9/11 and other disasters, you have to call in advance and make an appointment. First, the appointment, even for a time certain, is, in actuality, as flexible as waiting for the cable guy. Second, it totally eliminates the possibility of impulsive altruism. I have to schedule time out of my day (unpredictable as it is) to maybe be allowed to give the Red Cross ny blood at the agreed upon time. So I have stopped giving.
They should schedule weekend or better yet, daily walk-in sessions, for people who want to give but cannot predict exactly when they will be available.
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First, when it comes to blood services, there is no monolithic "Red Cross" as the original poster seems to suggest. Blood donations in the US are handled by a variety of organizations; some are Red Cross-affiliated, some are not. All work to the same FDA standards, but beyond that they are diverse and have designed their collection processes independently. Other countries do it differently, too.
However, one thing I have seen from giving blood in other countries is that scheduling is necessary. It takes a lot of people to collect blood, log who it came from and process it for storage and shipment. They have to be very well trained, in order to do it right.
Having enough skilled labor to deal with the random peaks in volume a 'drop-in' system would create means blood collection is *much* more expensive.
Then, too, the 'drop-in' donor is pretty rare. Folks with the mental attitude to give blood by and large are also well-organized with their time, and do not mind planning a few days in advance to block the two hours or more it takes to donate.
I'd suggest the original poster, the next time they donate, take an extra 15 minutes and ask the facility manager why this is NOT a good idea.