Héma-Québec is tackling a very real fear when it comes to donating blood products: needles. To play down this fear, the organisation is focusing in particular on drawing a parallel between tattooing and blood donation. In Quebec, one in three adults has a tattoo, but only 3 per cent of the eligible population takes part in blood drives. In light of this discrepancy, Héma-Québec has launched an advertising campaign specifically targeting young people with tattoos to encourage them to make this altruistic gesture, whilst a survey shows that 41 per cent of 18- to 34-year-olds are afraid of giving blood, compared with 27 per cent of the general population. Of all those surveyed who expressed concerns about blood donation, 28 per cent cited a fear of needles as their main deterrent. “We need the 18–34 age group to get on board,” insists spokesperson Josée Larivée. She points out that the proportion of people with tattoos in this age group is higher than among baby boomers, but that, conversely, baby boomers make up a larger proportion of blood donors than 18–34-year-olds, “so there needs to be a shift.” “We saw an opportunity to talk about the fear of needles with Halloween just round the corner. It’s a fitting topic this week, with witches and pumpkins popping up everywhere. We thought we should reach out to young people with tattoos who’ve had a needle stuck in them so many times. ‘But even if we take it with a pinch of salt, giving blood remains a vital act, and we absolutely must convey its importance to current and future generations,” says Larivée. On the posters distributed in tattoo parlours and displayed on the streets, there is an arm entirely covered in tattoos with, in the centre, the caption “Aren’t you afraid of needles? Aren’t you afraid to give?” superimposed over it. Héma-Québec launched its awareness campaign over the summer by setting up information stands at various events popular with young people, including the Festif de Baie-Saint-Paul, OSHEAGA and the Art Tattoo Montréal convention. Larivée encourages 18–34-year-olds to overcome their fears and assures them that staff take ‘the necessary precautions so that you don’t see the needle’ and that the whole process takes barely “three seconds.” Contrary to a still widespread belief, having a tattoo does not prevent you from giving blood. Héma-Québec points out, however, that there must be a three-month period between a visit to the tattoo artist and the appointment at the blood collection centre, and that the same waiting period must be observed after an acupuncture session or an electrolysis treatment. Larivée recounts her first experience with a tremor in her voice. “I gave blood for the first time quite late in life, and it moved me so much. I see it in other first-time donors too. I see people who are moved and they say: Oh my, I didn’t think it would affect me like this. You see your blood bag going into the box, you see the box being taken away and making its way to a hospital, and then it ends up in an operating theatre, a delivery room, a hospital ward or A&E. It’s used every single day.” She points out that a single donation can help up to three people and that 1,000 are needed every day to meet hospitals’ demands, as someone in Quebec needs blood every 80 seconds. To fully understand the importance of blood donations, “you have to have been in a hospital room with someone you love who is slipping away,“ according to Larivée. “When you need a blood transfusion, the colour of your skin changes and life slips away minute by minute. When the nurses arrive in the room with the blood bags and give a transfusion to someone you love, you see the colour return to their cheeks within minutes. I’ve spoken to parents who have been through cancer with their children and who tell me: ‘After a transfusion, it was magical; he became a six-year-old again, he started running about, whereas before the transfusion he was lying there, completely drained of strength.” This article by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 31, 2026.
