You probably won't recognize the name James Harrison, but we guarantee you won't forget who he is or what he did.
For more than sixty years, Harrison donated blood every two weeks, like clockwork. That's something lots of people do every day, but Harrison -- nicknamed 'The Man With the Golden Arm' -- was different.
Harrison's blood contained a rare antibody that protected unborn babies from rhesus disease.
After a childhood illness required multiple blood transfusions, Harrison started donating regularly until age 81, the cut-off for plasma donations in his home country of Australia.
Yesterday, Harrison died at the age of 88.
James Harrison, an Australian man who saved the lives of more than two million babies through blood donation, has died at age 88.
Nicknamed the “man with the golden arm,” Harrison donated his blood over 1,100 times, providing his plasma every two weeks for more than six decades.
What made his donations particularly special is that he had a rare antibody that can protect babies from rhesus disease while they’re in the womb.
What is rhesus disease? There's a protein on the surface of red blood cells call the Rh factor. People who are Rh-negative do not have this protein. When a woman who is Rh-negative is pregnant with an Rh-positive baby, there's a risk her body could create antibodies against the baby's Rh factor. Those antibodies can cross the placenta and lead to anemia and other, more serious, complications in babies.
In short, James Harrison is a hero.
Harrison saved a lot of babies.
He should get some sort of award.
There's a special place for men like him.
Say no more.
The Pearly Gates are thrown open wide.
F
There he is with some of the babies he saved.
Harrison is survived by his daughter Tracey Mellowship, her husband Andrew, grandsons Scott and Jared Mellowship and Jared's wife, Rebecca and their four children.
We extend our sympathies to Harrison's family, friends, and loved ones.