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If you're afraid of needles, donating blood or getting a tattoo were probably not high on your to-do list.
And while needles are still involved in both - getting a tattoo is no longer an excuse for not giving plasma.
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood has announced changes to its donation requirements which mean would-be donors no longer have to wait four months before donating plasma after getting a tatt.
The change comes on the back of a study involving more than 25,000 tattooed donors conducted by Lifeblood in partnership with UNSW's Kirby Institute and has been approved by The Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Which is fantastic news considering one in three of us will need blood, or blood products, in our lifetime.
But only one in 30 of us give blood each year.
That's just three per cent of Aussies.
Australia is one of the first countries in the world to remove the waiting period, with the change expected to boost plasma stocks by an estimated 50,000 donations a year.
Launceston tattoo artist Paul Galea told The Examiner before now donating plasma had always seemed impossible.
"I have a client who has been donating for years, but it's always been a lot of scheduling around when he can donate and when I can tattoo him again.
"I don't think I have ever gone more than four months without being tattooed, so I think these changes will definitely make a big difference."
If you are fit and healthy, aged between 18 and 75 and weigh more than 50 kilograms then chances are you can give blood.
So what are you waiting for? Book in to give blood today, call 13 14 95.
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