The remarkable dedication of one individual has transformed maternal healthcare in Australia and beyond. Harrison’s unwavering commitment to donating every two weeks for over 60 years, despite his own fear of needles, demonstrates how a personal pledge can save millions of lives.
James Harrison — known as the “Man with the Golden Arm” for saving 2.4M babies by donating blood over six decades — died at 88 at Peninsula Village Nursing Home in New South Wales, Australia.
Harrison’s blood contained a rare and precious antibody called Anti-D, which was used to create life-saving medication for pregnant mothers whose blood might attack their unborn babies, preventing a potentially fatal condition called Haemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn (HDFN).
Beginning his donation journey in 1954 at age 18, Harrison never missed an appointment, donating plasma more than 1,100 times, inspired by receiving life-saving transfusions during his own chest surgery at age 14.
Source: Verity
