Most people who think they cannot donate actually can. Tap whatever applies to you and get a straight answer — plus how long to wait if today is not your day.
A tattoo or piercing is not a permanent bar. Blood banks in Nigeria ask you to wait about 6 months after the needle, because a very fresh infection can hide from the screening tests for a few weeks. After that window you are a normal donor. If your tattoo is older than 6 months, you can walk in today.
This page is general guidance for Nigeria, not medical advice. The screening nurse at the centre makes the final call on the day, and their decision is always the one to follow.
Yes — once the tattoo is 6 months old.
A tattoo or piercing is not a permanent bar. Blood banks in Nigeria ask you to wait about 6 months after the needle, because a very fresh infection can hide from the screening tests for a few weeks. After that window you are a normal donor. If your tattoo is older than 6 months, you can walk in today.
Yes, if you feel strong and well.
Being on your period does not disqualify you. What matters is how you feel. If your flow is heavy, or you feel dizzy, tired or low on iron, wait a few days — that is about protecting you, not the blood. Eat well, drink water, and donate when you feel steady.
Usually yes, if it is well controlled.
People with diabetes controlled by diet or tablets can normally donate. Your sugar should be stable and you should have no active complications such as an unhealed wound, eye or kidney damage. If you use insulin, most Nigerian centres will ask a doctor to clear you first.
Yes, if your BP is under control on the day.
Most common BP medicines do not stop you. Staff will check your blood pressure at the centre — roughly under 180/100 is accepted, and very low readings are also turned away. Take your medicine as usual, eat before you go, and do not stop any drug to try to qualify.
Wait until you are fully treated and well.
Malaria parasites can pass through blood, so donation is deferred while you are ill. The usual guidance is to wait about 3 months after you finish treatment and have no symptoms. Same idea for typhoid or any other recent infection: recover first.
Most medicines are fine — tell the staff anyway.
Vitamins, pain relief, BP and most long-term medicines do not block donation. Antibiotics mean you have an active infection, so wait until the course is finished and you are well. Blood thinners, isotretinoin for acne, and some treatments carry their own waiting period — declare everything at screening and let them decide.
AS can donate. SS cannot.
Sickle cell trait (AS) does not make you ill and in most Nigerian centres you can donate whole blood normally, though some labs will not use AS blood for babies or for exchange transfusion. Sickle cell disease (SS or SC) means you cannot donate — you need your own red cells. Genotype and blood group are different things.
Not now — your body needs that blood.
Donation is not allowed during pregnancy, and you should wait about 6 months after delivery and until you have stopped breastfeeding. Pregnancy and nursing already raise your iron and blood needs. You can still help by sharing an emergency request.
Wait 24 hours and drink plenty of water.
Alcohol dehydrates you, which makes fainting after donation much more likely, and you cannot give consent while intoxicated. Leave at least a day between your last drink and your donation, and eat a proper meal beforehand.
No — these are permanent deferrals.
HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C can be transmitted through transfusion, so people who test positive cannot donate anywhere in the world. Never use blood donation as a way to get tested — go for a free confidential test instead.
Not below 50kg.
A standard donation is about 450ml. If you weigh less than 50kg that is too large a share of your total blood volume, and you would likely feel faint. This is temporary — if you gain weight healthily you become eligible.
Donors must be 18 to 65.
Below 18 you cannot legally consent and your body is still developing. Above 65, most Nigerian centres stop accepting new donors, though existing regular donors are sometimes allowed to continue with a doctor's clearance.
“Can someone with a tattoo donate blood?” is the single most-searched eligibility question in Nigeria — and the answer is yes, just not straight away. The rule is not about the ink; it is about how recently a needle broke your skin. Here is exactly how it works.
The skin is broken. A six-month deferral clock starts from this day.
You cannot donate yet. This covers the window period when a blood-borne infection can hide from screening tests.
Walk into any blood bank. You will be screened like every other donor, and if the tests are clean you can give blood.
The donation visit, step by step.
Two minutes, personal answer.
Who can give to you, and who you can save.
Find a donor near the hospital.
Sourced numbers on the shortfall.
Every NBSA centre, by city and state.
Search all 17 National Blood Service Agency centres by city, state or zone — addresses and contacts included.