My sister used to work the phones at our local
Community Blood Center. Their office is
downtown, and you can go there to give blood,
but they also do blood drives at area
businesses and other locations (like
churches) throughout the year. Sometimes
they just bring all their gear and set up in a
conference room (what they do where I work),
but they also have a Bloodmobile that they use
sometimes. (Like at the last place I worked.)

There is usually some sort of prize given away
for those who donate (or even attempt to
donate), as well as juice and cookies
afterwards, but no monetary recompense.
Last year I got one of those little Nerf-like
squeezy stress balls; this year the door prize
was a handy little CD carry-case.

As far as I know, blood banks do not pay for
donations other than the little awards and
snacks they give out. However, there are
places that take plasma donations (where
they take the liquid part of your blood and keep
it but put the rest back in) that they pay people
for. My dad was doing that for a while at $40 a
session, until he had a bad experience of
some kind and hasn't gone back since.

Grishny