Table I.

Comparison of estimated numbers and percentages of donors deferred for tattoos, ear or body piercing with donors with deferrable risk.

	Deferred* (N=408,864)		Deferrable risk (but donated) (N=31,155)
Tattoo
Age (years)	Females (%)	Males (%)	Females (%)	Males (%)
<25	1.9	1.0	1.2	0.9
25–34	0.8	0.4	0.6	0.2
35–44	0.4	0.1	0.4	0.3
≥45	0.2	0.04	0.05	0.0
Total	0.61	0.21	0.49	0.24
Ear or body piercing
Age (years)	Females (%)	Males (%)	Females (%)	Males (%)
<25	4.8	2.2	3.5	1.1
25–34	1.9	0.7	1.1	0.5
35–44	0.9	0.2	0.9	0.3
≥45	0.3	0.09	0.7	0.1
Total	1.38	0.41	1.5	0.31

^*Deferral data obtained from blood centres in two locations, Toronto and Ottawa.