Jannette Olson decided to move to Pennsylvania from New Hampshire to be closer to her kids and their families. One of the first things she did as a new resident is find a place to donate blood, something she did frequently before the big move.

“I always donated locally there with a major trauma center,” she said.

Jannette discovered the new Red Cross Blood Donation Center in Langhorne and made her first Power Red donation on the site’s opening day.

“I saw that there was a new center and it was close to my house so I figured I’d come in.”

Jannette has O negative blood, which makes her a universal donor. O negative blood is what emergency room personnel reach for when there’s no time to determine a patient’s blood type.

During her Power Red donation, Jannette gave a concentrated dose of red blood cells during a single donation. The red blood cells were separated out from the other blood components and the plasma and platelets were safely returned to her. Power Reds can be donated every 112 days.

Donors at the new center in Langhorne can make Power Red donations as well as whole blood, plasma and platelets.

“It’s great. People are very helpful and nice,” Jannette said.

She appreciated that phlebotomists explained everything about how a Power Red donation worked, and she felt the energy of the center’s opening day.

“Everybody’s pretty excited to be here.”

If you are thinking about donating blood but haven’t done it yet, Jannette has some advice.

“Everybody should do it. It’s easy. It doesn’t take too much time and it’s the right thing to do.”

Make an appointment to donate blood by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, using the Red Cross donor app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS. That’s 1-800-733-2767.

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- Written by Jenny Farley