A woman in Odessa, Texas, accused a lab employee of refusing to draw blood for her daughter, a high-risk pregnant woman. The reason? They had arrived 10 minutes before closing time, and, apparently, they were even called rude for it.
The incident was recorded by TikToker itsmal_26 (Mal), who is the pregnant woman’s mother. She is seen confronting a LabCorp employee who supposedly denied the blood draw. The employee was on the phone with a sales rep, Michelle, who talked with Mal.
“She said that we were rude for showing up 10-15 minutes before she closed,” Mal told the sales rep. “She said, ‘If you were to go to a restaurant, do you think that you would be served if you walked in six minutes before?‘”
The Texas mother then detailed that her daughter has a high-risk pregnancy and is to be induced in the coming days. They were instructed to get her blood drawn before 4 p.m., which they did as they arrived at the lab at 3:50 p.m.
The lab employee defended herself, saying that they had actually arrived at 3:55 p.m. Mal and her daughter, however, said that she was lying. The employee then asked them not to yell, which they weren’t, and said that the last blood draw is at 3:45 p.m.
Argument Intensifies, Reactions
Both Mal and the lab employee went back and forth, with the latter defending her restaurant example, saying that it would be rude for customers to ask for a “four-course meal” five minutes before closing time. Of course, having one’s blood drawn is no four-course meal, and Mal told her that.
Fed up with the heated argument, the employee told the Texas woman and her daughter to leave. According to her, they were being belligerent and, if they chose to stay, they would be trespassing. Finally, she said she was calling the police, and Mal told her to do so.
Most users were outraged by the employee’s attitude. One person wrote, “This interaction lasted longer than the blood draw would have.” Another commented, “Let’s normalize working the full amount of time you’re getting paid to work.” A third netizen added, “The Phlebotomist is wrong.”
However, other users were on the employee’s side. According to them, processing blood takes time, which justifies the 3:45 p.m. limit for blood draws. Either way, Mal has yet to receive a response from LabCorp. She has promised to update everyone when she knows more.
