First let me say I enjoy donating blood (not selling plasma) thoroughly, almost to an erotic sense. I have never broken any of the sacred do’s and don’ts (well before the donation anyway), nor have I lied in any part of the questionnaire.
I’ve wanted to get a tattoo for quite a while now, but I know this will disqualify me from donating for a year. I will not lie on the questionnaire (I’m a universal donor and they tell me a lot of O negative goes to babies), but I am curious as to the why.
Is this a viable reason?
Are there others?
Any personal experience donating within 12 months after a tattoo (did they send you back a nasty letter saying: We could not use your blood, please die you lying dirt bag)?
I would guess that 12 months is a safety thing, sort of like hedging their bets. If within 12 months you show symptoms of hep then you can’t give blood.
I don’t think the blood bank would know if you got a tattoo and send you a nasty letter. They would only know if you had some sort of disease…and you would get a letter about that.
I think the blood banks do everything to assure (insure?) that
A. the blood is safe for the person that will get it.
B. it is safe for your body to lose a pint of blood at this time.
(see how I used A and B so it wouldn’t be one of those lists that may or may not make Opal mad?)
Good show being a donor Hans, it is easy, costs you nothing, helps people live (many premie donors are also donating blood to aids patients, if memory serves) and you get COOKIES and Passionfruit OrangeGuava juice (can you buy this ambrosia, or is it only for the blood banks?)
I work regularly as a Red Cross Volunteer for the Bloodmobile, so I’m pretty familiar with their little rules and regulations.
A lot of their fear nowadays comes from overseas. I live and work in an area full of military personnel and veterans, and many of them are disqualified from giving blood, if only because they spent an inordinate amount of time in foreign countries during their tours of duty.
The tattoo rule doesn’t apply exclusively to American tattoo parlors. It applies to any and all tattoo parlors, since the Red Cross can’t account for the cleanliness of tattoo parlors outside of the U.S. Pardon the stereotype, but lots of servicemen get tattoos, and not all of them are recieved while in America. And since Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania aren’t exactly lauded for their medical prowess, the Red Cross has to protect itself.
Hence the rule.
There are other reasons for the Red Cross being stingy with its rules. Several times in the past, blood was allowed into the pool for donation that wasn’t tested or was improperly tested. Because of this, diseases that never would’ve made it to the mainstream of America did. Back in the late 70s, untested blood products (untested for AIDS, hepatitis, etc) were freely given to hemophiliacs. Most of those hemophiliacs died, but not before they inadvertently spread their diseases on to others. Had testing been standard practice, those diseases would never have become a menace. The Red Cross has to be a pain in the ass because it’s safeer that way.
So if you do decide to get your tattoo, don’t donate your blood. Yes, it’s an inconvenience, but in the offchance that you do get some freaky disease, you’ll probably end up saving more lives by NOT donating blood than by bucking the rules.