There are self-proclaimed legends and there are those whose actions speak louder than words. An example of the latter was the Australian, James Harrison, with the moniker as the “Man with a Golden Arm”, Harrison helped save the lives of over 2.4 million babies before sadly passing away at the age of 88.
Over the course of six decades, Harrison became known as one of the world’s most significant blood donors — providing a precious life-saving antibody in his blood, Anti-D. Although it was never fully confirmed how this antibody ended up in his system, reports have said it may be to do with a major blood transfusion Harrison had at the age of 14.
Later, it was discovered that Harrison’s blood was rich in the antibody and could go towards a drug that can protect newborns against Rhesus disease, also known as haemolytic disease of the foetus and newborn (HDFN).
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It’s a very harsh condition that, as a result of an incompatibility between a baby and their mother’s red blood cells, the mother’s immune system misinterprets the child as a threat. By sending antibodies to attack the baby, a mother’s bodily defenses can lead to a variety of damages including brain damage, heart failure, and even the loss of their life.
From the age of 18 in 1954, for every two weeks up until the age of 81, Harrison had made over 1,100 blood donations. Those regular donations even earned him the world record for the most plasma donated in 2005, which he kept up until 2022 when a US-based man overtook him.
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With them, Harrison was an instrumental pioneer in the development of anti-D treatments. Where one in two babies diagnosed with Rhesus disease would die, it was the countless number of anti-D doses — 3 million of which included Harrison’s — that would help ensure many Australian newborns would live long and happy lives.
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After peacefully dying in his sleep at Peninsula Village Nursing Home on 17 February, Harrison has no shortage of those who are grateful for his contribution in the fight against HDFN. One of those is Tracey Mellowship, who is not only Harrison’s daughter, but herself and her father’s two grandchildren are recipients of the anti-D immunisations as well.
Mellowship said: “He was also very proud to have saved so many lives, without any cost or pain. It made him happy to hear about the many families like ours, who existed because of his kindness.”
“He always said it does not hurt, and the life you save could be your own.”
Although there are less than 200 donors of anti-D in Australia, Red Cross Lifeblood has explained that their massive numbers of donations help save over 45,000 mothers and babies each year.
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In this man’s case, it was his kindness in doing this through most of his life that leaves “remarkable legacy, and he has put the challenge out to the Australian community to beat it”, as said in a statement by a member of the Lifeblood organistation, and is a testament as to why Harrison earned the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1999 — one of the highest honours anyone in the country can receive.
When all’s said and done, the story of James Harrison is a reminder that, despite all of the terrible things in the world, the enormous generosity of just one person can make the biggest difference.