BLOOD donating used to be a very pleasurable experience; you turned up, waiting in a gently forward moving queue, then answered a few questions before the worst bit: having your thumb pricked.

If all was well, you then offered a whole armful in the services of others.

Staff treated you like royalty, bled you dry, then sent you off into the outside world with gratitude and a gipsy cream. No longer!

The whole system is dragged down with safety checks and precautionary measures. Certainly don't go without an appointment if you're pressed for time, or your blood pressure will hit the roof!

But the worst aspect of this riot of red tape is the background music, which is far too loud.

Apparently it is supposed to protect patient confidentiality as the nurses shout your age out to the whole room.

In the good old days you would answer questions just in arm's length from the queue and nobody minded.

You can't even concentrate on a book to pass the time waiting in a queue (which doesn't seem to get any shorter), so eventually I was forced to leave before the thumb-jab, due to the noise level.

I shall try once more at a different venue to see if the music blasting situation is any better, but I'm not hopeful.

I could write and complain, but I can't bear the thought of the how did we do' questionnaire which will inevitably follow on from the we're sorry to hear you are dissatisfied, but we have no intention of changing anything' letter.

Progress eh? I had better leave it to the youngsters - they're good with loud music and enjoy lying in bed!

Mrs E Bacon, Kingsmoor Road, Stockton-on-the-Forest, York.