Live in Wayfarer 3.1 is a new set of acceptance criteria! Please browse the information in this category with caution as it is in reference to the previous review guidelines. To learn more about the new criteria, see here: https://niantic.helpshift.com/a/wayfarer/
Canadian Blood Services
PsychoX23-ING
Posts: 25 ✭✭
I have a question for Niantic - Casey. Are blood donation locations eligible? I know in the U.S. blood donation is a business, people sell their blood, but in Canada it is all donations, no one receives any kind of compensation and the services don't make any money from this. All the blood is sent to hospitals across Canada. And with blood donations being in critical demand, turning these locations into wayspots could help bring in more donators that are desperately needed. These can be considered charitable organizations that help out the community.
Answers
Where are these places that pay for blood in the US?? I need to sign up. 🙃 but every one I've ever seen are all donations/blood drives as well.
maybe they've changed then since last I heard, but I know in the past it used to be all business.
In my personal opinion, they should as anything to raise awareness of those even if it's just a waypoint would be amazing as it could save lives. But I am not sure what's the official rules are.
They don't meet any given criteria. They are much like food banks, donation centers, etc.
I have to agree- as much as I personally think it could be a good thing, these kinds of things don't seem to be what Niantic wants. I'd be happy if they said otherwise but so far things like this aren't really eligible. Early on I tried a place in my city that gives out free meals 365 days a year for the last 30+ years. Got denied twice and when I asked on here, it doesn't seem to meet eligibility criteria. Granted, they are definitely not the same (blood donation vs a soup kitchen) but they're similar in spirit.
Whether or not they are for profit or not-for-profit (donation or pay) isn't really what makes them eligible or ineligible. As JUST a location where you go to donate blood it would very likely fall under a "generic business" flag. Criteria suggests being more lenient with charity headquarters, though. Similar to what gets suggested with "activity based businesses," I think a case could be made if such donation center is prominent to the community or well known for specific reasons besides being a "run of the mill" blood donation center.
If general consensus remains negative, such centers sometimes have displayed artwork or murals (avoid things temporary or indoor wall hangings) or even educational signage or similar. One near me had a walking path with signs about the benefits of healthy & active lifestyles.
I'm an American, and I've never heard of selling blood here; it's always been a voluntary charity action to my knowledge. "Blood Drives" are common occurrences with the aim of getting people to donate; however all of these would be ineligible as temporary/seasonal/non-permanent activities.
So, it seems there's some confusion on what Canada Blood Service is. It's not a blood drive, or some pop up location. It's an actual, permanent, structure, providing a service 7 days a week during regular business hours.
I don't think there's any confusion about this. It's a blood bank. Doesn't matter in what form (profit, non profit, blood drives...) I would reject this as 'generic business', as I believe a non-profit organisation can be classified a 'business' as well, especially when taken into the Wayspot context. Otherwise I'd reject as 'doesn't meet criteria', because this doesn't meet any criteria set out by NIA.
If there IS something else that's notable about this place, they better sell it well in the submission statement.
Ok then, how do you classify it as a business. In what way is this a business? No money is exchanged between the blood service and the donators or between the service and hospitals. Describe a blood blank to me.
I understand that it might not strictly qualify under some definitions of "business", but it's pretty close to being one and lots of reviewers will pick something that is close where there is not a more precise rejection reason. I would personally probably pick "doesn't meet criteria" for this, as I don't know which criteria it would meet, but I wouldn't myself be upset about getting a generic business rejection for something like that.