Needles that help save lives... -

A few weeks ago I got my very first tattoo at Infinity here in Portland. Traci (the tattoo artist) and I had about three hours to get to know each other while she was tattooing me. When I told her where I work, she said that about a year earlier someone from the Red Cross had dropped off a poster with information about blood donation policies for the tattoo-ed.

Guess who that Red Cross employee was? ME!

I hear it all the time– “I can’t donate blood; I just got a tattoo.” I hear it so often, in fact, that I created this campaign and poster to help clear up the misconception.

In Oregon, getting a tattoo does NOT automatically defer you from donating blood (as long as you got the tattoo at a state-regulated parlor, which is basically all parlors). The rules are a little different in each state, however. If you got your tattoo in Washington, for example, you have to wait 12 months before attempting to donate blood again.

I think tattoos are really sexy, but even sexier? Tattoo-ed blood donors.

So, if you have a tattoo, no more excuses. Make your blood donation appointment by calling 1-800-GIVE LIFE or by visiting http://www.givelife.org/. C’mon, we know you’re not afraid of needles. . .why not try the life-saving kind?