How long to wait to give blood after tattoo

Can You Donate Blood After Getting A Tattoo?

Donating blood is noble practice. Your donated blood can improve someone’s health condition or even save their life. Blood donation is a great way of extending help to a fellow human being. However, there are certain myths that make people believe they are not eligible for donating blood. The most popular one is you cannot donate blood if you have a tattoo. That myth is just a myth.

How long to wait to give blood after tattoo

People from all walks of life get a tattoo and the fad of getting one is not going to end anytime soon. So does that mean these people cannot donate blood ever again? No, that is not true. Getting a tattoo does not automatically put a permanent ban on blood donation.

An individual who donates blood willingly and freely, after he/she has been declared fit post a medical examination for donating blood, without accepting in return any consideration in cash or kind from any source, is considered a donor. This however, does not include a professional or a paid donor.

When you look at the eligibility criteria for a blood donor, there is no source which says that if you have a tattoo you cannot donate. The general qualifications of a blood donor are:

  • Be in the age group of 18 to 60 years.
  • The weight of donor shall not be less than 45 kilograms;
  • Temperature and Pulse of the donor should be normal;
  • Haemoglobin should not be less than 12.5 grams;
  • The donor shall be free from acute respiratory diseases;
  • The donor shall be free from any skin diseases at the site of phlebotomy ;
  • Donor should be in good health, mentally alert and physically fit and shall not be inmates of jail, persons having multiple sex partners and drug-addicts
  • The donor shall be free from any disease transmissible by blood transfusion
  • No person shall donate blood and no brood bank shall draw blood from a person, suffering from namely:
  • cancer,
  • heart disease,
  • abnormal bleeding tendencies,
  • unexplained weight loss,
  • diabetes-controlled on Insulin,
  • hepatitis infection,
  • signs and symptoms suggesting AIDS,
  • Tuberculosis, asthma, epilepsy, leprosy, schizophrenia, endocrine disorders.

That said, there is a limitation for short period for people with tattoos who wish to donate blood. If you have recently gotten a tattoo, you are required to delay donating blood for at least 6 months. In between this period, you will not be eligible for blood donation. This is a precaution against cross-contamination &blood-borne diseases like hepatitis, HIV etc and blood banks advise letting the design heal by waiting 6-12 months.

Blood-borne illness such as hepatitis is transferred through the blood stream. There’s a risk of transferring it between people that are tattooed with contaminated instrumentation.Since tattooing involves piercing the skin with a needle, there’s invariably some blood concerned. The reason you’re waiting on the brink of a year isn’t for a result that you will be cleared for donation; it is for the result indicating if you have the disease or not to show up in blood tests.

If obtaining your tattoo infected you with hepatitis, you won’t be a candidate for blood donation. If you are cleared not to have hepatitis or on an off chance HIV, then you can go ahead and donate blood and become the superhero in someone’s life.


Yes, but if it was recent you may need to wait for a bit. It depends what you got, where and when.   

  • Tattoos: You can donate plasma (and show off your new ink!) straight away after a tattoo, as long as it was done in a licensed tattoo parlour in Australia. But, you’ll need to wait four months to give blood or platelets, no matter how big or small the tattoo is — that means cosmetic tattoos, too.  
  • Ear piercing: You can only donate plasma for the first 24 hours after having it done. After that, you can donate blood or platelets too.  
  • Body piercing: You can only donate plasma for the next 4 months after having it done. After that, you’re good to give blood or platelets.  

Whether it’s your ear or anywhere else, the piercing should be done with clean, single-use equipment. If it wasn’t or you aren’t sure, you’ll need to wait at least four months before you can donate anything.   

So, how about it? Book your donation in now.  

Can I donate blood after getting a tattoo?

If you have recently had a tattoo or body piercing you cannot donate for 6 months from the date of the procedure. If the body piercing was performed by a registered health professional and any inflammation has settled completely, you can donate blood after 12 hours.

How many weeks after a tattoo can you give blood?

Why do I have to wait after having a tattoo before I can donate? You have to wait for four months after having a tattoo before you can give blood. This includes semi-permanent make-up and microblading and the wait is the same for body piercings and acupuncture.

Why can't we donate blood after getting a tattoo?

In between this period, you will not be eligible for blood donation. This is a precaution against cross-contamination &blood-borne diseases like hepatitis, HIV etc and blood banks advise letting the design heal by waiting 6-12 months. Blood-borne illness such as hepatitis is transferred through the blood stream.