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- TORONTO - The eye catching
tattoos and body piercings that flash from the flesh of the fashionable
are now attracting the attention of Canada's blood banks.
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- The agency that manages the country's blood supply is
so concerned about the threat of tainted blood, it is turning away donors
whose body art is less than a year old.
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- "It's one of the things we do as a precaution,"
said Bill Dickson, of Canadian Blood Services.
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- "In most cases tattooing and piercing is perfectly
safe. But if it's not done in a reputable location there is a chance (people)
could contract hepatitis C or another communicable disease."
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- In the last year, blood banks have turned away four out
of every 100 donors because of tattoos; one in every 100 because of piercing.
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- But mobile clinics at schools and universities refuse
donors at twice that rate, largely because those who present themselves
are so often pierced or tattooed.
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- "Everywhere you look you see a young person with
tattooing or piercing," said Dickson.
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- That presents a problem for blood banks, which are determined
to get young people to roll up their sleeves as they try to combat a desperate
shortage of blood products.
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- "We're trying to focus a lot of our efforts on young
people," said Dickson.
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- "We have a TV ad aimed specifically at those who
are not even old enough to donate yet. It's to get the message out to them
and spur their interest."
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- Those who bear the needle's prick in the name of art
say they should be able to bear their arms in the call for blood.
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- Paul Ford, a Toronto tattoo artist, has body art that
covers about 30 per cent of his body, winding up his arms, around his neck
and up onto his face.
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- "It's very addictive," said Ford.
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- Since his first tattoo at 17, he's had at least one more
tattoo every year since -- making him ineligible to give blood his entire
life.
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- "Anybody who gets one will always get two. Anybody
who gets two gets three."
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- Ford said the stereotypical image of dingy, late-night
tattoo parlors might be partly to blame for the blood agency's caution.
He acknowledges that "unprofessionalism" still exists in the
industry but said that shouldn't prevent all tattoo-bearers from donating.
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- "A system that's begging for blood can't be too
picky," he said. "Just get the blood in the door. Then check
it before you put the blood into a person."
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- At a blood donor clinic in Toronto, Alex Morton, 22,
was giving blood despite her single tattoo, because her body has had more
than a year to recover.
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- She allowed a friend to tattoo her at the age of 16 because
it only cost her $20.
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- "I'm never getting another," said Morton, lifting
her leg onto the table to display the pink cartoon rabbit on her ankle.
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- Those determined to get body art and give blood in the
same year, have only one painful alternative -- branding.
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- Canadian Blood Services has no policy against this emerging
form of body art, in which patterns are burned into the skin with hot metal.
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- But it's not for everyone.
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- "I'm not racing out to get it done," said Dickson.
"I'm not pierced, nor am I tattooed. Those two are scary enough for
me."
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- Here are a few guidelines regarding who can and cannot
donate: * Age: donors must be between 17 and 70 years of age.
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- * Health: donors must be rested and feeling well, and
pass a hemoglobin test done at the clinic.
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- * Size: with exceptions, donors must be at least 142
cm (4 feet 8 inches) tall and weigh at least 50 kilograms (110 pounds).
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- * Recovery periods:
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- After a visit to the dentist: 72 hours.
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- After a pregnancy: six months.
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- After visiting countries with high malaria: six months.
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- After close contact with hepatitis: one year.
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- After acupuncture or electrolysis: one year.
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- After tattoos or piercing: one year.
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- After a cold, flu, or sore throat: full recovery.
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- After immunization shots: variable.
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