Are you that kind of person who celebrates milestones of your life with getting a tattoo? These milestones could be anything, including the things you achieved, or the things you could not achieve but taught you a lesson. If you are this person, then you must have wondered if you can donate blood with all the tattoos on your body? There are lots of rumors on how can one donate blood, or if at all they are allowed to donate blood. So let's get into its nitty gritty!

As per American Red Cross, in most states, a tattoo is acceptable if the tattoo was applied by a state-regulated entity. Which means the tattoo artist must be licensed and must practice following all the guidelines, using sterile needles and ink that is not reused. The same is the guideline for cosmetic tattoos, which includes microblading of eyebrows. If it is done by a licensed artist in a regulated state, then it is acceptable.

However, if you got your tattoo in a state that does not regulate tattoo facilities, you must wait three months after it was applied.

The states that do not regulate tattoo facilities are:

• Arizona
• District of Columbia
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Utah
• Wyoming

Body Piercing

Similar is the case with body piercings. It has to be done following the regulation, here the key is that the instrument used has to be a single-use equipment and disposable. Which means if you are getting it by a gun, or an earring cassette, they have to be disposable. In case you got your piercing with a reusable gun or a reusable instrument, you will be required to wait for three months.

Three-Month Wait Period

The reason behind the wait time is associated with the concerns of hepatitis, which could be easily transmitted from donors to patients through transfusion. All blood donations are thus tested for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, with several tests. However, not always are these tests are perfect, thus the three-month period is given.

What Dangers Loom Over?

Donating blood after getting a tattoo can be dangerous as unclean tattoo needle could carry bloodborne viruses, which are hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. In 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its guideline, making the wait time shorter from one year to three months. This is because if you contract a bloodborne illness, it could be detectable within the period of 3 months.

What else makes you ineligible to donate blood?

There are other reasons why you may not be allowed to donate blood. As per the American Red Cross, you are not allowed to donate blood if you have

• hepatitis B or C
• HIV
• Chagas disease, which is a parasitic infection that kissing bugs cause
• leishmaniasis, a parasitic infection that sand flies cause
• Cruetzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a rare disorder that leads to mental deterioration
• Ebola virus
• hemochromatosis, which means extreme build up of iron
• hemophilia
• jaundice
• sickle cell disease

As per the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blood Bank, these conditions make you permanently ineligible from donating blood.

While there are certain conditions that makes your permanently ineligible, there are other conditions that makes you temporarily ineligible from donating blood. These include:

• If you have a bleeding condition, and have issues with your blood clotting
• If you have received transfusion from a person
• If you have cancer. Here, the eligibility depend son the type of cancer you have
• If you have recently underwent a dental or oral surgery. In such a case, you would have to wait for three days
• If you had a recent heart attack, heart surgery or angina. You must wait for 6 months
• If you are pregnant, you can only donate blood after 6 months after delivering your child

A new global analysis published in The Lancet has revealed that the probability of dying from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease has increased in India over the past decade. The study points out that while four out of every five countries saw a decline in chances of dying from a chronic disease, India may stand as an outlier in this health trend.

The study, conducted by researchers from Imperial College London, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and other global institutions, looked at mortality data from 185 countries and territories between 2010 and 2019. India registered a worrying rise, with women experiencing a sharper increase than men.

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What the Numbers Show

Globally, the probability of dying from an NCD between birth and age 80 declined in 82% of countries for females and in 79% for males. These improvements were largely due to fewer deaths from cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, and conditions such as stroke.

In stark contrast, India joined a small group of countries, including Papua New Guinea,, where deaths from chronic illnesses went up for both genders. The analysis noted that “deaths from most causes of chronic disease increased in India, with heart disease and diabetes contributing heavily.”

The report also underlined that among large nations, countries such as China, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, and Brazil recorded declines in both male and female chronic disease death risks, highlighting India’s outlier status.

Women Face Higher Risk

The Lancet study highlighted an alarming gender divide in India. While both men and women saw an increase in mortality risk, the rise was steeper for women. This suggests that Indian women are facing growing vulnerability to lifestyle-related illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular conditions, potentially compounded by limited access to timely diagnosis and treatment.

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Globally, women have generally benefited more from improved chronic disease management compared to men. India’s reversal of that trend raises fresh concerns about the country’s ability to meet health equity goals.

What Is Driving the Trend?

Experts say India’s growing urbanization, dietary changes, sedentary lifestyles, and high levels of air pollution are fueling the surge in NCDs, as is also stated in a recent 2025 study published in Cureus, titled: Urban-Rural Health Transitions in India: A Comprehensive Review of Non-communicable Disease Trends and Risk Landscapes. Additionally, another 2023 study published in Cureus, titled: The Transformation of The Indian Healthcare System, notes that the country has long struggled with health system constraints, including unequal access to preventive and primary care.

While deaths from communicable diseases have declined due to better vaccination and treatment, the vacuum has been filled by chronic conditions that demand long-term management. The study points to heart disease and diabetes as the leading drivers of India’s rising death risk, alongside growing cases of dementia, alcohol-related disorders, and cancers of the pancreas and liver.

Global Commitments Under Pressure

The findings come at a critical time. Nations, under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), have pledged to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by one-third by 2030. The upcoming Fourth High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly is expected to set out a new vision for tackling these conditions, including scaling up prevention and treatment.

For India, however, the new data suggests the country risks falling further behind on these global commitments.

The past year we have observed more and more incorporation of AI in different aspects of our life. Not just for writing or making pictures, it is also now being used to identify people’s faces through facial recognition software, helping in documentation as well as in medicine. New software are being developed to assist medical professionals, not only does this help them identify diseases but also speeds up the process.

Having AI in medicine could also lower the cost and help many people get the help they need. This has led researchers to look for different ways to teach AI how to recognize and diagnose issues. One such disease that can cause people blindness, could actually be identified by AI, according to new research.

A new study has shown that artificial intelligence (AI) can accurately predict which patients with a condition called keratoconus need treatment to save their vision. This research, presented at the 43rd Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), is a major breakthrough for managing this eye disease, which often affects young adults. The findings were shared at a major conference for eye surgeons.

What is Keratoconus?

Keratoconus is an eye condition where the cornea, the clear, front part of the eye, starts to bulge outwards and change shape. This causes vision to become blurry and distorted. If the condition gets worse, a person might eventually need a cornea transplant, which is a major surgery.

Right now, doctors can only track the disease by having patients come in for frequent check-ups over many years. This is time-consuming for both the patient and the hospital. The main treatment, called cross-linking, is very successful at stopping the disease, but doctors haven't had a reliable way to know which patients will get worse and need the treatment right away versus those who can just be watched.

How the AI Algorithm Works For Medicine

Researchers from a London eye hospital and a university created an AI program to help with this problem. They trained the AI using over 36,000 images of patients' eyes taken with a special scanner. The AI looked at these images and other patient data to learn how to predict the disease's future course.

The AI's performance was very impressive. It was able to correctly sort patients into two groups from their very first visit: a low-risk group that didn't need immediate treatment, and a high-risk group that did. The AI was correct about two-thirds of the time. When the researchers added data from a second visit, the AI's accuracy jumped to 90%, meaning it was right nine out of ten times.

Patient Care

This new AI tool could change how doctors treat keratoconus. By using the AI to identify high-risk patients early, doctors could perform the preventative cross-linking treatment before vision gets worse. This would help patients avoid vision loss and the need for a major surgery like a corneal transplant.

For low-risk patients, the AI would prevent them from having to make unnecessary and frequent hospital visits, which would also free up doctors and hospital resources. The researchers are now working on making the AI even better, with the goal of using it to help with other eye problems as well, such as infections and inherited diseases.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is urging British tourists to take one simple step to prevent their autumn holiday from being "ruined" by illness. Amid a potential rise in infections this year, the agency is advising travelers to make sure they are protected against measles before heading abroad.

What is Measles?

Measles is a very contagious illness that can make you feel quite sick. It's caused by a virus and can be serious, sometimes leading to dangerous problems like brain swelling or pneumonia. The best way to protect yourself and others is to get the measles vaccine. The first signs of measles can feel like a bad cold or flu. You might have:

• High fever
• A cough
• Runny nose
• Red or watery eyes
• Tirednes
• Sore throat and muscle pain

Are Measles Cases Rising Globally?

Measles is a highly contagious illness that can cause a fever, a cough, red eyes, and a rash. It can be prevented with the MMR vaccine. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that measles cases in Europe have reached a 25-year high, with over 127,000 cases reported last year. More than half of these cases required hospitalization, and there were 38 recorded deaths.

The UKHSA issued a message on social media platform X, stating, "Planning an autumn or winter getaway? Don't let measles ruin your holiday. Two doses of the #MMR vaccine give you full protection, and you can catch up at your GP practice if you've missed any."

Why Vaccination Is Key For Measles

Getting vaccinated against measles is a critical step in staying healthy. Measles isn't just a simple rash; it's a serious illness that can lead to severe, life-threatening problems like pneumonia (a lung infection), meningitis (brain inflammation), and even blindness.

The good news is that the MMR vaccine is highly effective at preventing measles, as well as mumps and rubella. In the UK, all children are offered this vaccine, and two doses can give you protection for life. If you're not sure if you or your child has had the vaccine, you can contact your local doctor's office (GP surgery), which can provide it for free. Health experts emphasize that when more people are vaccinated, it protects everyone, especially those who can't get the vaccine themselves.

What Measles Looks Like: How To Identify Measles?

According to Center of Disease Control and Prevention, a measles rash is a key sign of the illness, and it has a very specific pattern. It usually begins as flat, red spots on your face near the hairline. Over the next few days, it will spread downwards to cover your neck, body, arms, and legs.

Facial Rash: The rash often appears as small, red, raised spots on the forehead and cheeks. It might look different depending on a person's skin tone. as small, red, raised spots. It can look different on various skin tones.

Body Rash: The rash won't stay on your face; it will spread across your entire body.

Other Symptoms: The rash is usually accompanied by other symptoms, such as a runny nose, watery eyes, and a cough.

Healing: As you start to recover, the rash will fade, and your skin may begin to peel or flake off.

Koplik spots: One of the earliest signs of measles is tiny white spots with a bluish center that show up inside the mouth. These are called Koplik spots and often appear a few days before the main rash.