When James Harrison was 14, the doctors removed one of his lungs and kept him hospitalized for three months
During the difficult time, Harrison learned that he was alive largely due to the transfused blood he had received
To give back, he became a blood donor himself
During the next 60 years, James Harrison has made 1,173 blood plasma donations – 1,163 from his right arm and 10 from his left
Australian Red Cross Blood Service estimates that Harrison saved 2.4 million lives
Harrison has a rare antibody in his blood and in the 1960s he and health professionals used it to develop an injection called Anti-D
Anti-D is the main answer to a deadly problem called rhesus disease
Rhesus disease occurs when a pregnant woman has rhesus-negative blood (RhD negative) and the baby in her womb has rhesus-positive blood (RhD positive), inherited from its father
If the mother has been sensitized to rhesus-positive blood, she may produce antibodies that destroy the baby’s “foreign” blood cells
For the babies, it can result in brain damage or death
“I’d keep on going if they’d let me” said Mr Harrison. But he has surpassed the donor age limit and the Blood Service seeks to protect his health
James Harrison on his final donation, surrounded by Anti-D babies he saved
To learn more about “The Man with the Golden Arm,” watch the video below
Mr Harrison was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1999. On Friday, he made his final benefaction
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