Contributor: Dave Rosenberg, MD

Educational Pearls:

• In 1951, Operation Tat-Type began tattooing adults with their blood type in an effort to prepare for rapid transfusions in the time of the Cold War and the Korean War
• School children in northern Indiana and areas in Utah were tattooed with their blood type beginning in 1952 under the same operation
• Based on tattoos given to SS officers during WWII
• This wasn't to identify who needed what blood but rather to identify who could give what blood in the event of a massive attack

References

Wolf EK, Laumann AE. The use of blood-type tattoos during the Cold War. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008;58(3):472-476. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2007.11.019

Summarized by John Spartz, MS3 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD

The Emergency Medical Minute is excited to announce that we are now offering AMA PRA Category 1 credits™ via online course modules. To access these and for more information, visit our website at www.emergencymedicalminute.com/cme-courses/ and create an account.

Donate to EMM today!