He was known as “the man with the golden arm.”
James Harrison, who according to the Australian Red Cross was the world’s most prolific blood and plasma donor, has died at age 88.
Harrison’s plasma contained the rare antibody Anti-D, also known as Rhesus D antibody, which is used to make the medication given to mothers whose blood is at risk of attacking their fetuses. He donated plasma 1,173 times and is credited with saving 2.4 million Australian babies, according to the Red Cross.
The former Guinness World Record holder died in his sleep on Feb. 17.
“James was a humanitarian at heart, but also very funny,” said his daughter, Tracey Mellowship, in a statement.
“In his last years, he was immensely proud to become a great-grandfather to two beautiful grandchildren, Trey and Addison. As an Anti-D recipient myself, he has left behind a family that may not have existed without his precious donations.”
Harrison donated blood every two weeks from age 18 in 1954 to his retirement in 2018 at age 81.
That year, Harrison spoke with CBC Radio’s As It Happens about making his final donation, which he called “heart-wrenching.”
“It was the end of an era,” he told host Carol Off. “People have approached me and said, ‘Thank you for my seven children.'”
Rare antibody
Harrison decided to become a blood donor after being the recipient of several transfusions following lung surgery as a teenager, according to the Red Cross. Shortly after he began donating, doctors discovered that Harrison’s plasma is unique.
Anti-D is processed and given to mothers-to-be who are a negative-blood group with a positive-blood group partner, Harrison explained in 2018.
The immune response leads to what’s called hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN), due to an incompatibility between a mother and her fetus’s blood type, according to Canadian Blood Services.
This can be “life-threatening for the fetus or newborn,” Canadian Blood Services said.
“James extended his arm to help others and babies he would never know a remarkable 1,173 times and expected nothing in return. He continued to donate even in his darkest days, after the passing of his wife, Barbara, who was also a blood donor, and helped inspire his career as a lifesaver,” Lifeblood chief executive officer Stephen Cornelissen said in the Australian Red Cross news release.
Harrison’s daughter Tracey required an injection because she is RH-negative and her husband is RH-positive, Harrison told As It Happens.
Sana Ashoori is in a race against time as she searches for a life-saving kidney donation. A rare disease left the Calgarian with just 30 per cent kidney function.
“I’ve seen the result, because my grandson is now 23 years old and at university,” he said in 2018. “It makes you feel good that you’re doing something which costs nothing, really. Just time.”
He also told the radio program that he was, in fact, afraid of needles.
“I’ve never once watched the needle go into my arm,” Harrison said. “I look at the ceiling. I look at the nurses. I look at the other people in their beds.”
There are 200 Anti-D donors in Australia, who help about 45,000 babies each year, according to the Australian Red Cross.
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