Blanche McKee can’t pinpoint exactly when she started giving blood because she can’t remember a time when she didn’t.“

It’s been so long. For a long long long time,” she said. Donating blood is woven into the fabric of her life. “I just always have given blood.”

After decades of donating, turning 100 years old on October 31st wasn’t going to stop her.

Blanche was so passionate about the need for blood that she started the long running American Red Cross blood drive at her retirement community Freedom Village, in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, along with another resident years ago.

“They didn’t have one and I had worked on blood drives before I moved here so I thought we should do one.”

The latest blood drive was held on Election Day at Freedom Village. Blanche moved there 26 years ago and has made a lot of friends over the years.

Living in the same building where the Red Cross blood drive is held is the perfect way to conveniently donate and also actively recruit new donors. Blanche said sometimes people are scared to donate but she reassures them they don’t need to be.

“I don’t know why people are afraid. I just say it doesn’t hurt. You don’t miss the blood.” She said, “It’s more difficult to get men to sign up than it is women.”

Jacki Pitcher is the Director of Resident Services at Freedom Village. She said many of the people who live there have needed blood transfusions or have known someone who has needed them over the years.

“Blanche has always been a go-getter. She has never had a problem standing up in front of our monthly meetings with the residents and doing a pitch for blood drives, about how important it is and how it can save lives,” she said.

Jacki and Blanche are both nurses by trade. Blanche became a Registered Nurse after attending a three-year program at the University of Iowa School of Nursing in her 20s.

“I wanted to do something more than just being a clerk in Woolworth’s. That’s what girls did,” she said.

As a Registered Nurse, Blanche worked in an army hospital and for 30 years for two ob-gyn doctors at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. She said being in the medical field made her realize how much blood is needed.

Before Blanche arrived for her donation appointment on November 5th, people were already excited that she was going to be there.

Susan Simpson is a blood donor ambassador who has volunteered for the Red Cross since 2022. She was looking forward to seeing Blanche again after meeting her the last time she donated blood at Freedom Village.

“She was just so lovely. I couldn’t believe how old she was. That she was not on any meds. That she was walking around just fine. Amazing woman. Very very kind and nice.”

Seff Alsyoof has worked for the Red Cross for nearly three years. He is a phlebotomist who helped Blanche hop up on the table before collecting her blood, and said she was the first 100-year-old donor he has ever had.

Seff said he appreciated Blanche’s loyalty to the Red Cross and told her it was an honor.

“I’m just happy to have her. She’s so happy to be here and she’s saving lives. She’s still saving lives after all these years,” he said.

The number of lives potentially saved by Blanche is staggering. A single blood donation can help save more than one life, and it’s the blood on the shelves that helps the most during an emergency.

As a driver for the Red Cross, Stephen Giddings helped bring in the equipment needed to make the Freedom Village blood drive happen. Witnessing Blanche donate blood at 100 years old left him in awe.

“It was just amazing to be able to see that. It was so honorable. She has a really big heart. God bless her soul.”

Blanche used to donate every 56 days, the amount of time that whole blood can be donated safely, about six times a year. Now she does it twice a year when the blood drive is held at Freedom Village.

“Nobody is too old. You keep making blood, new blood, every day.” She plans to keep donating, “As long as I’m able,” she said.

If you would like to make an appointment to donate blood, visit RedCrossBlood.org, use the Red Cross donor app or call 1-800-RED CROSS. That’s 1-800-733-2767.

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- Written by Jenny Farley