If you have ever given blood for any reason, you know that sometimes it can be hard for the nurse to find a vein. I propose that whenever you give blood, the nurse or doctor would ask you whether you wanted a small dot tattooed on your arm so that next time it will be much easier to find the vein.

Once finding the vein, the nurse would put a small amount of sterile ink on the end of the needle before inserting it into your arm. When the small wound heals, you would have a permanent marker that could help paramedics save your life, or at the least be more convenient next time you need blood tests done. Of course, this would be completely voluntary, like those bracelets some people wear to help paramedics diagnose the problem quickly.
-- discontinuuity, Nov 12 2006

A Veinfinder http://www.luminetx...aspx?mnu=veinviewer
[strange606, Nov 13 2006]

AMR Blood Donation Guidelines http://www.redcross...1082,0_557_,00.html
Just do a find for "tattoo" [shapu, Nov 16 2006]

I thought they tried to find a different spot each time. Would like to hear a nurse's input on this.
-- jmvw, Nov 13 2006


I had a blood test just this morning - if I'd read this idea first I would have asked for the nurse's thoughts on it. I hadn't, so I didn't, but it seemed to me that she went for exactly the same spot as last time.

Maybe it's just regular blood-givers, or drug addicts or the like, who need to find new places to inject? In which case this idea would work for the rest of us.
-- imaginality, Nov 13 2006


The cleverest solution to this I've heard of is this: A small Infra-Red video camera takes images of the patient's arm, and feeds this to a projector which projects a real-time black-and-white image of the pattern of veins back onto the patient's arm.
-- hippo, Nov 13 2006


Sounds expensive
-- discontinuuity, Nov 13 2006


The first time I had an IV put in, my vein kept slipping away from the needle, moving back and part separately from the skin the needle was already puncturing. I'm not sure a dot would help.
-- ye_river_xiv, Nov 13 2006


I, too, have mobile veins. I actually have very stretchy skin, too, so a tattoo that's on my vein today might be a bit off tomorrow.

I actually don't mind being poked and prodded until a vein can be located and trapped. It's just a wee bit of pain, and considering the circumstances in which I've had IVs (paid medical research or emergencies), the end result was worth it every time.

That said, if it works for one person, it's worth it. [+]
-- shapu, Nov 13 2006


it also helps (as i learned after a recent hospital admission) to be well hydrated. They had to pull my blood with a syringe out of an IV since i wouldnt giveit up naturally. They also had to poke be about 5 times before they got a vein. last time i had to have tests done I drank about a gallon and a half of water the day before and i was squitring the stuff into the vial through a smaller needle.
-- bleh, Nov 13 2006


One other slight problem....I have a tatoo and I am now not allowd to give blood. I am not sure the reason for this but I know it holds true in Maine and New York.
-- Chefboyrbored, Nov 14 2006


I made a lot of beer money in collage donating plasma they always used the same spot and I still have clear scars marking the spot on each arm.
-- pydor, Nov 14 2006


//I have a tatoo and I am now not allowd to give blood//

No longer true. You can donate blood 8 months after you had your tatoo done.
-- Pericles, Nov 14 2006


Pericles...Could you link that?
-- Chefboyrbored, Nov 16 2006


It's 12 months for the American Red Cross. (link)
-- shapu, Nov 16 2006



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