The Man Who Saves Millions Of Babies With His Blood

All of this man’s blood donations were of great importance, but it happened that his own daughter was also rhesus negative. This is how James Harrison was able to save his own grandson.

This story is very positive and full of hope that is why we want to share it with you. James Harrison is a 78 year old Australian who has saved countless lives with his blood. However, he became known as  “the man with the golden arm”.

He lives a quiet life with his family, daughter and grandchildren in his native Australia. Nobody would think that James Harrison is a hero who saved the lives of  two million people  because his blood contains a very special substance.

Read on to find out more about this extraordinary man.

Coincidence or destiny?

When James Harrison was 14 years old, he came very close to death, unexpectedly. After an accident, the doctors couldn’t help but remove one of his lungs.

He was in the intensive care unit for several weeks and received various blood transfusions. His mother then explained to him  that it took 13 liters of blood to stay alive.

James was so amazed at the fact that a number of unidentified people had voluntarily donated their blood to save his life that he made it up  his mind to donate blood for others first on his 18th birthday.

And so it happened. Just  one day after the blood donation, he was called again and asked to go to the hospital. He hadn’t expected that. 

The Blood of James Harrison: Source of Hope

In the mid-1960s,  child mortality and miscarriage rates were very high in Australia. At the Red Cross, they still remember that this was a very bad time.

Many women suffered a  miscarriage and lost their children, without that there was an explanation. Other children were born with severe malformations and died in just a few days. But what was this due to?

It was rhesus disease. In this disease  , the mother’s immune cells identify the fetus and its cells as the enemy and therefore fight them. The result is a miscarriage or malformations.

If the woman is rhesus negative (Rh negative)  and the father transfers the Rh factor (Rh positive)  to the baby ,  this fatal disease occurs. This has serious psychological consequences, especially for the mother,  as she attacks her own baby with her own antibodies. But with James Harrison there was an extremely positive turnaround.

After the first blood donation, the doctors observed that James’ blood was very special:

• It contained  antibodies that could be used to defeat Rhesus disease.
• This enabled the so-called anti-D vaccination to be developed,  which prevents the disease carriers from developing antibodies during pregnancy.
• Over  17% of Australian women are rhesus negative,  which means that many lives can still be saved today with the help of James Harrison.

A treasure in James Harrison’s blood

As the Red Cross informs,  James Harrison’s blood donation has already saved more than two million babies who  were born without complications or negative consequences and who can lead normal lives.

James Harrison is fortunate to have helped so many children. However, he cannot deny that one of the many blood donations was particularly important to him: he was able to save the life of his own grandchild.

Fate would have it  that his own daughter is also rhesus negative. Your son therefore owes a great deal to his grandfather.

Now you might want to know  why James Harrison has these antibodies in his blood. Fate? Genetic predisposition? Chance is responsible for it.

The accident that James Harrison had when he was 14 was decisive. The  many blood transfusions from different donors probably led James Harrison to develop the antibodies. However, this cannot be 100% proven by a doctor.

So we can be very grateful to this Australian, especially when you consider that he is  afraid of needles and cannot see blood and has still donated blood and plasma over 1000 times.

Now you might be wondering what happens when  James Harrison is gone.

He’s certainly not the only blood donor with antibodies. You just have to find it. More heroes with “golden arms” are necessary to create Anti-D.

An amazing story.