Local blood banks could see an influx in donations this spring, as an American Red Cross policy change could make more students eligible to give the gift of life.

On Monday, the American Red Cross is expected to formally change one requirement for donating blood, lifting its one-year donation furlough for individuals who have received a tattoo.

In the past, people with tattoos would have to wait a year before they were able to donate blood because of the possibility that donors could have contracted hepatitis B from the parlor where they received their tattoo.

With the change, there would no longer be a waiting period for Iowans with tattoos.

The decision was made to lift the restriction because Iowa has become one of a handful of states that regulates tattooing. All tattoo parlors within Iowa are required to have a state license and are regulated by the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Ames blood banks have welcomed the news of the lifted restriction — it makes it easier for individuals to donate blood, which could mean more donations.

About 16 percent of all Americans have a tattoo, with a majority — 13 percent — being between the ages of 18 and 24, according to Harris Interactive, a Rochester, NY-based global polling and market research firm.

“I understand why I couldn’t donate. It’s because there are risks of diseases, which is why they have a year wait,” said Matt Nielson, junior in chemical engineering. “The last thing you need if you are sick and receiving blood is getting someone else’s virus.”

The one-year restriction was decided by the American Red Cross, Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which have worked together to regulate criteria for donating to ensure the safety of the blood.

Other students hope the criteria will allow more people to give blood at Iowa State.

“I wish this new regulation was around three years ago when I was deferred. They’re getting smarter and hopefully more people will be willing to donate, now that they know they won’t be deferred,” said Whitney Custer, junior in pre-journalism and mass communication.

Susie Dermer, training specialist for the American Red Cross in Omaha, Neb., said another problem with tattoos that may occur is recycling unused ink, although it is unusual.

“Everything is single use or we sterilize it. We fill the ink cap and continue to fill it if it’s running low. We never put ink back in the bottles after it has been used,” said Jason Crimmins, manager of Lasting Impressions, 114 Welch Ave.

“If you did get hepatitis B from the tattoo parlor, you would have found symptoms after one year, and that is why we deferred people for that amount of time,” Dermer said.

There is a list of states that are regulated and if a person receives his or her tattoo in one of the regulated states he or she is no longer deferred from giving blood after March 21.

Crimmins said he was not informed of the change by the American Red Cross but is happy to hear about it.

Lasting Impressions is inspected by the Iowa Department of Public Heath and it performs random inspections no less than once a year.

“The department has a checklist and makes sure everything is up to par,” he said.