RAPID CITY - Beginning in two weeks, United Blood Services will no longer say "No, thank you," to willing blood donors with new tattoos, as long as their tattoos were done in South Dakota or one of 10 other states meeting Food and Drug Administration regulations.

Previously, anyone with a fresh tattoo was told they would have to wait 12 months before donating blood, according to Bob Garcia of United Blood Service.

South Dakota's regulation of tattoo parlors have been deemed stringent enough to lift the one-year waiting period beginning Monday, Sept. 24, Garcia said. The other states are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas, he said.

"This will free up some people we know who want to be donors but are conflicted and want their tattoo," Garcia said.

United Blood Services' data base includes many would-be donors who were deferred because of the waiting period requirement, he said.

The agency hopes to know this week whether the names of deferred donors can be extracted from records covering the area from Mitchell to Gillette and North Dakota to Valentine, Neb., that it serves.

Tattooed donors must have had their tattoos applied in one of the approved states, Garcia said.

According to Garcia, South Dakota's regulation of tattoo parlors is the reason the 12-month deferral was lifted.

Tattoo artist Bill Barrett has 17 years of experience and is certified by Occupational and Health Administration. Sanitation is just as important for the client as it is for the tattoo artist, he said.

"Sanitation is a tattoo parlor priority just as it is in a doctor's or dentist's office," he said. Barrett said he probably has contact with more body fluids than the average doctor.

"Everything, from beginning to end, has to be sanitary or sterile," said Barrett, who works at Lakota Ink.

The gloves, ink and needles used for a tattoo are all disposable and are thrown away once a tattoo is completed.

Any reusable equipment is treated in an ultrasonic cleaner, rinsed and then sterilized in an autoclave. The autoclave uses steam and pressure to sterilize the instruments. All countertops and chairs are cleaned after each customer.

Once a month, a spore test is taken of the autoclave. An independent laboratory reads the test and submits the results to the state Department of Health where they are kept on file, according to Gilbert Jumping Eagle, owner of Lakota Ink.

When he worked in Washington state, Jumping Eagle said it was not uncommon for blood donors to come in for a copy of the tattoo parlor's spore test.

State regulations also require that after equipment is opened, it must be sterilized or disposed, even if it was not used.

Lakota Ink charges a minimum "sit-down" fee of $60 to cover material costs if a customer changes his or her mind after an artist has set-up for a tattoo.

"Generally, if someone gets an infection in a tattoo, it's because of something that happened after they left here," Barrett said.

Barrett says he always tries to educate his clients about the potential for contamination from other sources while their tattoo is healing.

And Jumping Eagle says he provides extensive annual training in blood-born pathogens for his employees.

Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com