Australian Red Cross
James Harrison with his grandson, Trey, on a previous photo
One of the most prolific blood donors in the world – whose plasma has saved the lives of more than 2 million babies – has died.
James Harrison died in his sleep in a New South Wales nursing home in Australia on February 17, his family announced on Monday. He was 88 years old.
Known in Australia as the man with a gold arm, Harrison’s blood contained a rare antibody, anti-D, which is used to make medicines given to pregnant mothers whose blood may attack their unborn babies.
The Australian Red Cross service which paid tribute to Harrison, said that he had committed to becoming a donor after receiving transfusions while undergoing major thoracic surgery at the age of 14.
He started giving his blood plasma at the age of 18 and continued to do so every two weeks until the age of 81.
In 2005, he had donated the world record for most blood plasma – a title he held until 2022, when he was overwhelmed by a man in the United States.
Harrison’s daughter, Tracey Mellowship, said her father was “very proud to have saved so many lives, without any cost or pain”.
“He always said that it didn’t hurt, and the life you save could be yours,” she said.
Mellowship and two of Harrison grandchildren are also beneficiaries of anti-D vaccinations.
“It made (James) happy to hear about many families like ours, who existed because of his kindness,” she said.
Anti-D jabs protect baby to be born from deadly blood disorder called hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, or HDFN.
The state occurs during pregnancy when the mother’s red blood cells are incompatible with that of their growing baby.
The mother’s immune system then considers baby’s blood cells as a threat and produced antibodies to attack them. This can seriously harm the baby, causing serious anemia, heart failure or even death.
Getty images
Harrison to his 537th blood donation in December 1992
Before anti-D interventions were developed in the mid-1960s, one in two baby diagnosed with HDFN died.
We do not know how Harrison’s blood has become so rich in anti-D, but some reports said it had to do with the massive blood transfusion that he received at 14 years old.
There are less than 200 anti-D donors in Australia, but they help around 45,000 mothers and their babies each year, according to the Australian Blood Service of the Red Cross, also known as Biveblood.
Lifeblood worked with Australia Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research to cultivate anti-D laboratory antibodies by reproducing blood and Harrison immune cells and other donors.
Researchers involved in laboratory anti-D hope can one day be used to help pregnant women around the world.
“The creation of a new therapy has long been a” Saint Grail “,” said Lifeblood’s research director David Irving.
It noted the scarcity of donors engaged in regular donation, which are able to produce antibodies in sufficient quality and quantity.
