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.
In India, because of the risk of infection, the National Blood Transfusion Council has placed a six months window period - this means that a person cannot donate blood until six months from the day that he/she got a tattoo. What is disturbing, though, is that there are a number of people who are dishonest about this time frame. These are usually ‘professional donors’ (those who do this for monetary reasons) or those who are forced into it for replacement purposes. For this reason, many blood banks have been refusing blood from people who have tattoos.
• The word Tattoo comes from the Tahitian word ‘Tatu’, which is an indelible mark or design fixed upon the body by the insertion of pigment under the skin.
• The Karbi’s of Northeast India would tattoo a line across their women’s face (from the forehead to chin) as disfiguration, to protect them from men of other tribes.
• The oldest physical body in existence, popularly known as Ice Man (ca. 3300-3200 B.C.) has 57 tattoos. These tattoos were perhaps used for medicinal purposes, but it is indeed remarkable that this oldest human skin ever found is itself tattooed.
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• The blood need of India and how is it met: 8 million units per year. Total collection is 4 million units.
• More than half the Indian population is medically fit to donate blood, but only 4 out of 1000 of the country’s population are blood donors.
• Voluntary blood donor: A voluntary blood donor donates blood out of his/her free will without expecting anything of monetary value from the blood bank or patients’ relatives or any other source at the time of donation or in future.
• Replacement blood donor: Replacement blood donors are those that donate blood in replacement of blood needed for the particular patient without involvement of any monetary or other benefits from any source. Normally, blood banks or transfusion centres provide the right group of blood for the patient and a replacement donor belonging to any other blood group replaces the supply in quantity.
• Manufacturers of tattoo ink are not bound to divulge the ingredients of their pigments, and mixtures may be considered trade secrets |
Dr. W.F.Dkhar, Joint Director Health Services (Research), however, has developed a novel solution to this problem.The individual must first take photographs of all the tattoos on his/her body, and then submit it at the centre mentioned above. After the Blood Bank’s seal and authorized signature is placed, the document is placed on file and is counted as day one. Six months from that date the individual may return and after his/her body is inspected and found to not have any new tattoo, will be considered for blood donation. This was started on 13th April, 2010, and the bank has already received a number of entries. Dr. Dkhar is hopeful that other blood banks will follow suit, as he says this is a ‘full proof system that allows even those with body art to donate blood’.
 Child birth, they say, is the most painful physical experience a human can have. Women now have the option of an epidural to help ease the pain. Yet, some are of the opinion that an epidural is not administered to women with lower back tattoos.They say that, as the only three vertebrae where an epidural can be administered are often the exact locations of the popular lumber tattoo, they do not want to risk pushing the ink (which may contain bacteria) directly into the spinal fluid, as it could eventually jeopardize mobility of the patient. However, most doctors in this region did not agree with this and believed that if the skin in and around the tattooed area looked healthy, they would have no qualms about administering it.Between beliefs and reality lies a thin vacuum of uncertainty, so it would be wise to weigh the pros and cons before you seriously take the step of getting a tattoo.It may undoubtedly be the most shocking form of art, but whatever be your reservations towards tattoos, it is a form of art that has survived centuries and has captured and expressed human feelings throughout.
The only difference between a tattooed person and a person who isn’t tattooed is that a tattooed person doesn’t care if you’re tattooed or not - this is a sign often seen in tattoo shops.
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