When can I give blood after a tattoo or piercing?
Once 180 days, six months, have passed since the tattoo, piercing or acupuncture. ITKS, ZTKV and the rulebook on choosing donors all have the same rule, and the questionnaire asks whether you have had acupuncture, a piercing or a tattoo in the last six months.
Why the wait
A needle can carry an infection, hepatitis for one, that tests do not show straight after it was caught. After six months the tests are sure to show it, so the blood is safe for whoever receives it.
What counts
- Any new tattoo, and touching up an old one.
- Piercing, ear piercing included.
- Acupuncture.
- A cut from a needle or a sharp object that had someone else's blood on it: also 180 days.
An old tattoo, done more than six months ago, is no obstacle.
From which day exactly
On the Can I donate? screen, enter the date of the tattoo or piercing and the app says from which day you can give, by the rules of the service running the drive.