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Care to expand on this? Edit: Based on the downvotes, I'm guessing I wasn't really clear what I was going for - I hadn't heard about the International Committe

Care to expand on this? Edit: Based on the downvotes, I'm guessing I wasn't really clear what I was going for - I hadn't heard about the International Committee before, so I was looking for some more information about how they differ.

siddboots 9y ago
The structure of the international red cross movement is a bit confusing. There are completely independent national societies in most countries (E.g. The American Red Cross), as well international organisations based in Geneva (The ICRC and the IFCR). In the US, the phrase "Red Cross" often is used to refer to "American Red Cross", which is the national society who deliver blood services and local disaster response. They've come under some criticism for apparent lack of transparency around how donations are spent, and for allegedly having very high overheads. The IFRC (International Federation) is an international organisation that facilitates cooperation between the independent national societies. The ICRC (International Committee) is a large international organisation whose mandate derives from the Geneva Convention, and whose work is focussed on armed conflict. They work with war casualties, prisoners of war, refugees, civilian victims of all forms, on any and all sides of conflict. They also help coordinate disaster relief in lots of cases just because they have the organisational ability to do it. In my opinion they're among the most trustworthy organisations that you could give to.
- pragone 9y ago
  Thank you! That's the perfect tl;dr (too long; didn't research?) I was looking for
- craftyguy 9y ago
  > They've come under some criticism for apparent lack of transparency around how donations are spent, and for allegedly having very high overheads. They are also borderline abusive with how often they will call you and harass you if you miss an opportunity to donate blood. They apparently have unlimited funds to pay phone operators.
  - astura 9y ago
    Not borderline abusive, they are straight up abusive with their phone calls. If you ever decide to give blood do NOT give them your phone number. I tried to give blood ONCE and found out that I was ineligible. For the next five years or so they harassed me non stop about giving blood. I told them I was ineligible they just said "ok" but I still got phonecalls. I asked them to stop calling me but they didn't stop. After a while I would just hang up on them. I got the phonecalls to stop by emailing the ombudsman. Never got a reply but the phonecalls stopped shortly after.
    - yeukhon 9y ago
      I actually blocked them, just went straight to blood center whenver I can.
    - treehau5 9y ago
      I noticed this as well. I recently decided to stop giving them blood, however, because I was actually reading the fine print for once, and apparently they send your blood off for use in research at universities and you cannot opt out.
      - jnty 9y ago
        Why is that a bad thing?
        treehau5 9y ago
        I am giving you my blood to help people not for your side channel research efforts. If a university wants to use my blood for testing and research they may do so at my discretion, not in spite of it. Also, I would like to be able to review the privacy policy of that particular university and know if they have any attempts to turn a profit with a pharmaceutical company. Again, blood is very sensitive and very personally identifiable. I want the least amount of people possible (who don't actually need it to survive) to have it. I have no idea what the future holds in terms of genetic testing, genetic discrimination, and most importantly, how this particular research university handles data storage and information about my blood and I. Anyways, long story short, I will be using my local blood organizations from now on, or just going directly to the hospital to donate.

siddboots 9y ago

The structure of the international red cross movement is a bit confusing. There are completely independent national societies in most countries (E.g. The American Red Cross), as well international organisations based in Geneva (The ICRC and the IFCR). In the US, the phrase "Red Cross" often is used to refer to "American Red Cross", which is the national society who deliver blood services and local disaster response. They've come under some criticism for apparent lack of transparency around how donations are spent, and for allegedly having very high overheads. The IFRC (International Federation) is an international organisation that facilitates cooperation between the independent national societies. The ICRC (International Committee) is a large international organisation whose mandate derives from the Geneva Convention, and whose work is focussed on armed conflict. They work with war casualties, prisoners of war, refugees, civilian victims of all forms, on any and all sides of conflict. They also help coordinate disaster relief in lots of cases just because they have the organisational ability to do it. In my opinion they're among the most trustworthy organisations that you could give to.

pragone 9y ago
Thank you! That's the perfect tl;dr (too long; didn't research?) I was looking for
craftyguy 9y ago
> They've come under some criticism for apparent lack of transparency around how donations are spent, and for allegedly having very high overheads. They are also borderline abusive with how often they will call you and harass you if you miss an opportunity to donate blood. They apparently have unlimited funds to pay phone operators.
- astura 9y ago
  Not borderline abusive, they are straight up abusive with their phone calls. If you ever decide to give blood do NOT give them your phone number. I tried to give blood ONCE and found out that I was ineligible. For the next five years or so they harassed me non stop about giving blood. I told them I was ineligible they just said "ok" but I still got phonecalls. I asked them to stop calling me but they didn't stop. After a while I would just hang up on them. I got the phonecalls to stop by emailing the ombudsman. Never got a reply but the phonecalls stopped shortly after.
  - yeukhon 9y ago
    I actually blocked them, just went straight to blood center whenver I can.
  - treehau5 9y ago
    I noticed this as well. I recently decided to stop giving them blood, however, because I was actually reading the fine print for once, and apparently they send your blood off for use in research at universities and you cannot opt out.
    - jnty 9y ago
      Why is that a bad thing?
      - treehau5 9y ago
        I am giving you my blood to help people not for your side channel research efforts. If a university wants to use my blood for testing and research they may do so at my discretion, not in spite of it. Also, I would like to be able to review the privacy policy of that particular university and know if they have any attempts to turn a profit with a pharmaceutical company. Again, blood is very sensitive and very personally identifiable. I want the least amount of people possible (who don't actually need it to survive) to have it. I have no idea what the future holds in terms of genetic testing, genetic discrimination, and most importantly, how this particular research university handles data storage and information about my blood and I. Anyways, long story short, I will be using my local blood organizations from now on, or just going directly to the hospital to donate.