I have a tattoo but I want to donate blood in India

A lot of people have been disqualified from blood donation in India after getting a tattoo. It is important for DonorMeetUp to raise awareness among blood donors in India with tattoos on their bodies.

Some blood donors avoid getting a tattoo for being disqualified from blood donation in the future and want to remain active blood donors and we have noticed many people are told not to donate blood in India if they have tattoos on their bodies.

A tattoo is a design on our body that is drawn using permanent ink with a small needle and applied on the top layer of skin by repeatedly piercing the skin using a device or a machine used by a tattoo professional.

The professional tattoo artist applies the ink to the needle and turns on the motor, the sharp needle then makes thousands of tiny pricks in the skin to make the tattoo permanent. The needle is run approximately 3 thousand times per minute to distribute the ink on the epidermis of the skin and to make it permanent, the tattoo artist makes sure that ink is reached into the dermis which is below the outer epidermis.

With the needle making around 3 thousand pricks per minute, the blood fights back the pain assuming it’s a small wound by sending blood cells called macrophages, these blood cells help clear the tattoo and after fighting with the external particles entering the body, it starts to adapt and makes the ink permanent. White blood cells can’t clear the ink since it’s too big for them to carry the foreign particle that is inserted with a tiny needle multiple times. As part of this process, the foreign particle is also carried into the bloodstream.

Any blood donor who got a tattoo newly has a bloodstream with foreign particles in the body which disqualifies them from donating blood.

If you are allergic to ink pigment then this can cause an allergic reaction on your body and show up rashes near the tattoo. There is a chance of infection with viruses or bacteria in the body from exposed skin. there is a chance of blood-borne infection if the tattoo needle is not changed or the tattoo machine is not cleaned properly from one person to another and can transfer infections such as HIV, hepatitis B, C, and other blood-borne infections.

As we have understood how the tattoo is applied on the body, So we know that there are several health risks to getting a tattoo and due to this, there is a risk of transferring the infection to others if you donate blood.

Due to the shortage of blood in India, hospitals and blood banks are now considering blood donation from people with a tattoo after 6 months of getting a tattoo on their body. if you are sure that a tattoo professional has used a hygienic needle and machine before applying a tattoo on the body, you can request a blood test before donating blood to avoid any blood-borne diseases. With the latest advancements in the medical field, we can now get the report on same day and find out if there is any infection in the blood. If you have a tattoo, before donating blood we recommend getting blood tested for any infections in the bloodstream and this can help identify and avoid the risk of transferring the blood-borne diseases to the patient receiving the blood.

If the blood test comes negative for all the blood-borne diseases then the doctor or blood bank can decide if they would like to accept the blood or not.