DNR Tattoos: Will doctors honor them or not?

Do Not Resuscitate

Who would get a tattoo on their chest saying, “Do Not Resuscitate” or “No CPR”? Apparently, a lot of people, and it’s creating controversy in the medical world.

Bio-Ethicist Tom Tomlinson argues that DNR tattoos have benefits. They don’t get lost; they go wherever you go. That’s unlike written advance directives, which are seldom in the emergency room when you get there, often not presented upon admission and hard to get into the medical record even when you have one. If you show up unconscious in the Emergency Room and your Advance Directive’s in a file at home, how will doctors know what you want? This concern is what has spurred the growing interest in DNR tattoos.

If you want to be in control of what happens to you at end of life, however, don’t count on your tattoo, because it’s unlikely your wishes will be followed.

According to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), tattoos are not legal advance directives, in part because they do not include a witness or notary. That’s bad news for this person who thought he had his bases covered.