Can You Donate Blood If You Have a Tattoo?

People who want to donate — and potentially become frequent donors — need to be aware of the eligibility criteria. One common question prospective donors may have is if you have a tattoo, can you donate blood if you have a tattoo? 

A big Yes! When you have a tattoo implanted on your skin you can donate the blood. There was at one time a greater limitation in the blood industry about it. We’ve also seen the horror stories of people having tattoos or piercing hepatitis. With strengthened tattoo industry laws, there are more ways to give blood after you get one. You will then be part of the noble cause and save millions of lives around you. But there are also specific criteria that you must fulfill to know that can you donate blood if you have a tattoo. Let’s find them out.

 

1. How long does a person have to wait to donate blood after getting a tattoo?

It is the second question that comes up in the mind of someone who has a tattoo after eligibility – ‘ can a tattoo person donate blood?’. The time to become a healthy donor after having ink is called the duration of Deferral. And if you’ve had a tattoo that means you’re overdue. Don’t worry; this is myth again. Blood donation is permissible at the earliest after getting inked if a state-regulated agency applied the tattoo using a sterile procedure, according to the Red Cross. Currently, only a few states control tattoo facilities, so most tattooed donors must wait twelve months after tattooing before donating blood. And, basically, you’ll have to wait 4 months to 12 months after having a blood donation tattoo.

2. How do you verify whether you are an eligible donor/ can tattoo person donate blood?

In India, the Health Department is responsible for operating and registering tattoo parlors. They are licensed in compliance with section 23-1-39 of the Rhode Island General Laws as amended, and the rules and regulations herein, as they relate to the registration of tattoo parlors/shops. To avoid contaminating the blood with blood-borne infections, licensed tattoo shops are expected to pass certain protection and health requirements. With unregulated tattoo shops, such requirements can not be assured. In India, regulated tattoo shops make us eligible for blood donation after six months.

3. What steps do you need to take before a person can donate blood?

When you go to the blood bank to donate blood, the blood bank staff will do the evaluation and take a short history of your safety from you. The evaluation includes: You will show the employees of blood banks the freshly got tattoo or some old tattoo. You have to provide the blood bank with full details that include; where did you get the tattoo from, when did you get the last tattoo, by whom, and how?
You must have evidence of the correct data that the tattoo was inked under the sterile condition, and the applied ink was fresh. You must also provide some history of blood-borne disease beforehand. This evaluation is intended to prevent the spread of hepatitis and to test the possibility of transmissible transfusion infection (TTI), including HIV AIDS, hepatitis B and C, and other diseases born in the blood.

4. Meet other basic requisites

Along with the tattoo ink calculation below are the minimum blood donation requirements:

• Be 17 years of age minimum
• Weigh 110 pounds or more (49.89 kg)
• Not be anemic
• Body temperature is not above 99.5 ° F (37.5 ° C)
• Pregnant women prohibited
• Does not have any medical conditions which disqualify
• No tattoos, piercings, or acupuncture therapies have been obtained from unregulated facilities over the last year

5. Precautions to be taken

The one who gets tattooed himself must make sure that each time the artist uses fresh, safe, and sterile needles to prevent blood-borne illnesses. This is because 10-30 percent of cases of Hepatitis B virus transfusion in India is due to the use of contaminated needles each year.

So keep up the blessing act and keep saving lives. But make sure that you take a healthy diet, and between two donations there is a difference of at least 8 weeks (56 days).