Naomi Campbell and blood donation

Nurses General Nursing

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Normally I give little attention to supermodels but the nosey news is running a story about how Naomi Campbell was rejected at a blood donation drive when she attempted to donate blood The way they did it made me cringe. The headline is written as if to insinuate she has a horrible disease when the fact is that the rejection was over a mundane thing. The story then reveals that she had recent surgery causing everyone to assume it was cosmetic surgery. This all happened in Brazil and perhaps the rules are different down there but as far as I am concerned the womans privacy was violated in a very ugly way. :nono: The way the whole situation was reported was enough to cause a person to fear offering to donate blood because of the possiblity of public humiliation. I think the medical community needs to do some damage control quickly because it could see a sudden drop in blood donations due to the negative publicity. If the hospital where the rejection occured had anything to do with the information getting out steps need to be taken to keep it from happening again. I think that is unlikely to happen in US but I wouldn't rule it out. If it happens that someone innocently gave the story to the news media it should be pointed out to members of the news media that they or they or a loved could need a blood transfusion at anytime. This story was handled in a most disgraceful manner, there was no need to report it at all and certainly was not necessary to use it to smear the woman name. However, it's the potential for negative reprecussions through out the medical community that makes the story so disgusting. PS Naomi went to Brazil on a humanitary mission, it is inexcusible that a completely different story from the one she was trying to promote was published by the media.

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Specializes in Operating Room.

I agree that patient confidentiality is important but I'd rather have the blood bank be a little overzealous in the donor screening process than too lax. Plus, Naomi Campbell annoys the snot out of me so it's hard for me to dredge up much sympathy in her case. :down:

I think she needs some anger management counseling and someone to tell her that she is not allowed to assault people just because she's a supermodel. Furthermore, with the "party happy" lifestyle that so many of these models lead, I'm not sure I'd want her blood!:no:

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Also any European is not considered in the US or Canada to give blood unless this has changed since I last read about it.

Press will say it how they want if they think it will get people talking and it will sell

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I agree that patient confidentiality is important but I'd rather have the blood bank be a little overzealous in the donor screening process than too lax. Plus, Naomi Campbell annoys the snot out of me so it's hard for me to dredge up much sympathy in her case. :down:

I think she needs some anger management counseling and someone to tell her that she is not allowed to assault people just because she's a supermodel. Furthermore, with the "party happy" lifestyle that so many of these models lead, I'm not sure I'd want her blood!:no:

I don't like Naomi Campbell,nobody likes her and I expected people not to get it. It is not about this particular person and her blood. It is about the dampening effect the report will have on blood donations. If I were a civilian about to donate blood for first time and I heard this story and the nasty way it was reported I would say to myself, "Wow, if I go to donate blood and they turn me down how will people view that? Will my co-workers move to the otherside of the room when I walk in to work?" Some public education is in order here to counter the effects of the report.
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if you have recently traveled to certain parts of the world you cannot donate blood or be a doner, i don't know if this was the reason or if brazil is one of the countries

i certainly agree that this should not have been made public, does hippa cover this type of thing??

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.
It is not about this particular person and her blood. It is about the dampening effect the report will have on blood donations. If I were a civilian about to donate blood for first time and I heard this story and the nasty way it was reported I would say to myself, "Wow, if I go to donate blood and they turn me down how will people view that? Will my co-workers move to the otherside of the room when I walk in to work?"

Respectfully, I think the average person who is considering blood donation for the good of others is mature enough to realize that the world doesn't give a hoot about his/her private health concerns and has no fear of a possible denial by a blood bank being made public.

Was Naomi Campbell's privacy violated in this media report? Of course. But that is the well-known price of celebrity, and it doesn't stop Naomi Campbell and thousands of others from actively seeking fame for the sake of fame itself.

On the other side of the coin, if your twin babies or mine had received a wrong dose of Heparin, would the world care?

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if you have recently traveled to certain parts of the world you cannot donate blood or be a doner, i don't know if this was the reason or if brazil is one of the countries

i certainly agree that this should not have been made public, does hippa cover this type of thing??

The entire event happened in Brazil, I doubt if they ever heard of Hippa. However, the repercussion could be felt everywhere not just there.

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Respectfully, I think the average person who is considering blood donation for the good of others is mature enough to realize that the world doesn't give a hoot about his/her private health concerns and has no fear of a possible denial by a blood bank being made public.

Boy I hope you are correct, she went down there to promote awareness of the horrible Dengue Fever outbreak they are having. As I type this people are bleeding to death from the disease, anything that discourages blood donations is bad news. She and the other celebrities donating blood were doing it to encourage people to donate and the story could have the opposite effect. The other bad news is that everytime South America and Mexico have a Dengue Fever outbreak it eventually makes it's way to US and there have been outbreaks in the past along our border states.
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Specializes in Operating Room.

I got turned away 2 times. Once because I had a tattoo that I had gotten in the "window" that they give you(I think it's a year). The second time was because I had a cold. These happened when I was working at a hospital and no one looked down on me.

Actually I gave plasma once and they asked me nicely never to come back again! That was because I got all shocky during the procedure(my BP dipped really low) and when I went to leave, I fainted.

I think most people realize that the rules are there for a reason...and no one cares if the average person off the street gets turned away.

I know what the OP is saying about the media though. They descended like vultures on the whole Britney Spears story, to the point where the ambulance carrying her was tailed by paparazzi. And that Dr phil person needs a smack upside the head!

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I think Naomi Campbell is a very, very poor example to use of how the public views blood donation.

Naomi Campbell is a known drug user, and I would seriously wager that had a signficiant impact on her ability to give blood. Naomi Campbell also travels extensively to various countries...I personally wouldn't want ANY blood from someone who travels abroad frequently...you have no idea of what they have been exposed to.

Naomi Campell is a sorry excuse for a human being and I think a "good call" was made not to accept her blood. Hard telling what's in it.

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Specializes in Home Care, Hospice, OB.

i don't know ms. campbell from adam's housecat, but as reported locally, it seemed clear that she still had an abnormally low h&h from surgery. no big deal...:confused:

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Still think her denial of being a blood donor has something to do with her coming from the UK. Yes the press did wrong is how it was reported but I think they will do anything to sell their paper/magazine

Found this in Wikipedia

In America, and some other countries, donors who have spent substantial time in areas at high risk for vCJD (typically the United Kingdom and Europe) are typically excluded.

Blood transfusion

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