Are you thinking of getting a tattoo? July 17th is National Tattoo Day and is the perfect time to get the ink you’ve been thinking about. The good news is you can be a loyal blood donor for the American Red Cross and still get your tats without them preventing you from donating blood.
There are a few rules about it, and we’ll get to that later, but first meet two passionate blood donors who explain why their tattoos mean so much to them and why they think donating blood is so important.
Meet Elizabeth Carden: A blood donor with 16 tattoos
Elizabeth Carden donated blood at the recent “I Bleed for Preston and Steve” Red Cross blood drive at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks on June 13th. She donated with her mom Leslie Carden, a nurse who has also been a lifelong blood donor and was thrilled to donate again for the first time after surviving cancer.
Elizabeth is a patient care technician for Main Line Health. She started donating in high school where she ran her school’s blood drives.
“I always try to donate when I can, especially in the past couple of years since her diagnosis. I try to keep track of when I’m eligible again and go when I can,” she said.
Elizabeth is the oldest of three sisters and her first tattoo is one she and her sisters all got – a lotus flower.
She loves insects, nature and horror movies and trusts her tattoo artist to come up with the art in her ink. Now, many of her tattoos have a specific theme.
“Spooky, creepy, Halloween inspired tattoos. Not all of my tattoos have a greater meaning, but they just show what I’m interested in and who I am and what I’m about.”
Elizabeth works with many patients over the age of 60 and she thought at first that people might judge her tattoos but she said, “Honestly, people might question me about them, but I’ve gotten a lot more compliments than I would have ever expected.”
She likes it when people appreciate the beauty and thought behind each tattoo. She calls them “permanent accessories” and said the one that gets the most compliments is the one on her wrist that looks like a bracelet.
“My tattoos show who I am. That’s why I love them.”
Elizabeth Carden started donating blood in high school and has 16 tattoos. She said, "I love them. I have a whole bunch on my leg and one behind my ear." She got her most recent tattoo for her birthday. Photos by Jenny Farley / American Red Cross
Meet Mel Palmer: She started donating blood at 16 and got her first tattoo at 30
Like Elizabeth, Mel Parmer donated blood at the “I Bleed for Preston and Steve” Red Cross blood drive and made her first blood donation in high school. And like Elizabeth, she has a lot of super cool tattoos.
“I like being able to express myself and show people what I'm interested in, and just it gives them a better idea of who I am as a person and that there’s many different facets of me,” she said.
Mel has a degree in criminal justice and is a singer who plays the violin, guitar, piano and that’s not all.
“I just bought a cello so I want to learn how to play that,” she said.
Mel has a “Lord of the Rings” tattoo, a “Game of Thrones” Targaryen tattoo and several BTS and KPop tattoos. One on her arm that illustrates the BTS message to “love yourself” says “Save me,” and when you look at her arm from another view it says “I’m fine.”
She said, “It’s a reminder that I’m fine to myself but a call to people that sometimes I need people to save me, so it’s actually like a mental health awareness tattoo, and each part of it represents a different journey and part of the journey of loving yourself.”
Mel has donated whole blood and platelets and like Elizabeth, plans to keep donating.
“You feel like you’re doing something that makes a difference,” she said.
Getting tattoos has never stopped her from giving blood.
“It’s never been an issue as long as I haven’t gotten the tattoo within a certain amount of time.”
Mel Palmer has donated blood for years and loves her tattoos as a form of self-expression. Several of her tattoos are related to KPop and BTS. She said, "One year I donated platelets on a member of BTS’ birthday as a way of giving back and celebrating life." BTS is a boy band from South Korea. Photos by Jenny Farley / American Red Cross
Understanding the guidelines about tattoos and donating blood
So, let us break down for you what you need to know about tattoos and donating blood.
In states that regulate tattoo facilities there is no delay required between getting a tattoo and donating blood, as long as the tattoo establishment uses sterile needles and fresh ink.
Pennsylvania is one of 9 states and the District of Columbia that don’t regulate tattoo businesses. That means people who want to donate blood will have to wait 3 months after getting their latest tattoo before doing so.
New York, Maryland, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Georgia, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming also do not regulate tattoo facilities.
The reason for the 3-month delay is related to concerns about transmitting hepatitis. The Red Cross tests blood donations extensively for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, but it takes time to properly detect the virus.
It’s important for people who may be infected with the hepatitis virus to not donate blood.
You will also have to honor the 3-month delay if you apply your own tattoos or get tattoos in states with regulations, but from unregulated artists or businesses.
Sign up to give blood or platelets at RedCrossBlood.org, by calling 1-800-REDCROSS, or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App.
- Written by Jenny Farley
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