James Harrison, an Australian known as the "Man with the Golden Arm," has died at 88 after protecting 2.4 million babies with his rare, antibody-rich blood plasma, health officials confirmed.
Harrison passed away in his sleep on February 17 at a nursing home on the New South Wales Central Coast.
Over 64 years, he has donated blood 1,173 times, according to the Australian Red Cross organization Lifeblood.
His plasma contained a rare antibody, Anti-D, used to develop a life-saving medication for mothers whose blood might otherwise attack their unborn babies due to rhesus D haemolytic disease (HDFN).
Before Anti-D's introduction in 1966, HDFN affected as many as 1 in 100 pregnant women, government data shows. After a successful Anti-D trial, Lifeblood sought donors with the antibody—and Harrison, a dedicated donor, was a perfect match.
Harrison never missed a donation until his 2018 retirement. His blood contributed to 2.4 million doses of the medication. Of his 1,173 donations, 1,163 came from his right arm, as he found it less painful.
Lasting legacy
Among those saved by his generosity was his own daughter, Tracey Mellowship.
"James was a humanitarian at heart but also very funny," she said. "As an Anti-D recipient myself, I may not have existed without his precious donations."
Lifeblood chief executive Stephen Cornelissen called Harrison's contributions "an incredible legacy," noting that Harrison had hoped someone in Australia would one day surpass his donation record.
Despite 17 percent of pregnant women requiring Anti-D, finding donors remains a challenge. Scientists now hope to use Harrison’s blood to develop lab-grown Anti-D antibodies, potentially saving even more lives worldwide.
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