We recently came across an article about an significant tattooing event in Helsinki that could potentially be life saving. The Finnish Red Cross Blood service and a Helsinki tattoo studio ‘Legacy Tattoo’ have joined forces to create a fantastic event that will not only raise awareness about the importance of donating blood, but will also facilitate donors to have their blood type tattooed on them. 


It is widely assumed that if you’ve ever been tattooed then you’re not eligible to give blood, but this actually isn’t the case. There’s only a 4 month ‘quarantine’ period following your tattoo, and it’s absolutely fine to donate after this. The folks at Legacy Tattoo are helping to raise awareness about giving blood in the hope to inspire more people, especially of the younger generation to get involved and to become blood donors. 



Some of the flash from Legacy Tattoo’s blood donor awareness event. 


Blood donors are incredibly important, with just 1 pint of blood potentially saving over 3 lives. It’s estimated that in the UK, someone needs blood every 2 seconds, so donating blood is such a crucial cause.  1 in 4 people will be in need of blood at some point in their lives, so chances are you already know someone who has received  blood transfusion.  Statistics show that around half of the people in the UK don’t actually know their blood type. There are some blood types that are particularly rare, which means a donation of this blood type is even more critical. O negative blood can be used by anyone, regardless of blood type, so this type of blood is also very much in demand. 


An ‘A positive’ donor having his blood type tattooed on him 

Giving blood is so important, and the blood that is donated goes to much needed causes every single day. Blood.co.uk statistics show; 
“ 67% [of donated blood] was used to treat medical conditions including anaemia, cancer and blood disorders. 27% was used in surgery, including cardiac surgery and emergency surgery. 6% was used to treat blood loss after childbirth." 

This is why it’s essential to give blood, and the fact that a tattoo studio are raising awareness about blood donors will hopefully remove the stigma around getting tattoos and donating. 




If you’re thinking about becoming a donor then head over to blood.co.uk for more information. Don’t forget to check out our website where you can buy Radiant Tattoo Ink Blood Red online! 

Love Toni 

Blog & image credits: