The truth about tattoos

Gail T. W. Thomas

For centuries, tattoos have served civilizations around the world as marks of status, tribe affiliations, as symbols of religious and spiritual devotion and as promises of love. But tattoos have also been used to mark criminals, slaves, rebels, well, the so-called ‘undesirables’.Today, tattoos have become more of a fashion statement than anything, as more and more people are choosing to have their bodies marked for life, without putting much thought into it. Yet, the majority still associate tattoos with the ‘weird’ and ‘tabooed’.

There are many taboos that shroud tattoos; the two that most affect us are that a tattooed person cannot donate blood and that an epidural is not administered to women who have lower back tattoos.

Blood donation has always been a noble act. But recent findings show a worldwide decrease in suitable donors, causing a supply shortage. One of the main reasons for this is the increasing popularity of body art.