You now have a new option for donating blood in Wake County

People in northern Wake and southern Franklin counties have a new, more convenient place where they can donate blood.

The Blood Connection, one of two nonprofits that collect blood for hospitals in the Triangle, has opened a second Triangle donation center in Wake Forest.

Both The Blood Connection and the American Red Cross hold blood drives at businesses, schools and other locations throughout the Triangle. But the donation centers provide a permanent place where donors can always find a cot and a phlebotomist ready to take their blood.

The Blood Connection’s center in Wake Forest opened April 1 at 2115 S. Main St., just off Capital Boulevard. It’s open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The organization had noticed a number of dedicated blood donors from the Wake Forest area, spokeswoman Ellen Kirtner said.

“We want to make donating easy and convenient for them,” she wrote in an email. “So we found a space, turned it into a donation center and have received a very welcoming response since opening our doors.”

The organization’s other donation center is on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh, between Crabtree Valley Mall and the Pleasant Valley Promenade.

The Red Cross also has four blood donation centers in the Triangle:

▪ Raleigh: 100 North Peartree Lane, off New Bern Avenue near WakeMed’s main campus.

▪ North Raleigh: 8301 Bandford Way, off Six Forks Road near Strickland Road.

▪ Cary: 3700 Regency Parkway, near the Koka Booth Amphitheatre.

▪ Durham: 4737 University Drive, off Old Chapel Hill Road.

UNC Health has a blood donation center in Chapel Hill, which is currently focused on donations of plasma and platelets, according to its website.

To learn about how and where to donate blood, go to thebloodconnection.org or www.redcrossblood.org.