The Australian Red Cross Lifeblood has just announced a new rule change to blood donation, which has significantly reduced the wait time between getting inked and donating blood. Although Australians can currently make a plasma donation immediately after getting tattooed, the original wait time to donate blood was four months. With the latest announcement from the Australian Red Cross, effective as of Monday, 26th June, people will now only need to wait seven days after getting tattooed in Australia to donate blood.
Celebrity Ink fully supports this recent rule change because they know the limitations and misconceptions of getting tattooed and donating blood. A Lifeblood survey revealed that more than 15% of Australians believe that you cannot donate blood at all once they have been tattooed. Celebrity Ink wants to change that and has taken it upon themselves to kickstart the flow of blood donors, with five of their employees donating at the Southport Donor Centre on Tuesday, 27th June, to be some of the first to welcome this new rule.
The need for blood never stops, and the demand for donors is greater now than ever before, with only 3% of the Australian population (that’s only about half a million people) donating blood. Australia needs over 1.7 million donations every year to meet the demand. Donating blood can give people the strength to fight and survive cancer, blood diseases, anaemia, stomach and kidney diseases, heart, organ and other non-orthopaedic surgeries, fractures, and joint replacements.
Mateoh Eggleton, a 6-year-old Queensland boy, is one of those people who rely on blood donations in order for him to survive and battle a rare genetic disorder, chronic granulomatous disease. CGD means that Mateoh’s white blood cells are unable to fight off certain infections. On top of his genetic disorder, Mateoh has also been diagnosed with haemolytic anaemia, which is a condition where his red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be replaced. After a failed bone marrow transplant that aimed to cure him, Mateoh requires one to two bags of blood a day to help him survive.
One donation of blood can save up to three lives, including Mateoh’s. While Celebrity Ink gave life-saving blood donations, Mateoh showed his support to remind us all just how much difference donating blood can mean to someone's life. Despite arriving straight out of the hospital, Mateoh wore a smile on his face and encourage us all to be as brave as him.
This welcomed change has the potential to lead to an extra 10,000 donations a year, reducing the risk of no suitable available blood donations for Mateoh. To join Celebrity Ink’s efforts in boosting blood donations, you can take the eligibility quiz on the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood website. There now is a higher chance than ever before of eligibility, with the recent announcement shortening the wait time to just seven days to donate blood after getting buzzed with some new ink in Australia. If you are interested in contributing to the lives of so many Australians in need, book a donation appointment by calling 13 14 95, visiting lifeblood.com.au, or downloading the DonateBlood app.
