James Harrison, hero…

James Harrison is the most prolific blood donor in the world,  having kept a promise made at 14 to donate blood as often as possible,  prompted by being the surgical recipient of donated blood himself.

Soon after he began donating in 1954,  the Australian’s blood was found to have  unusually strong and persistent antibodies used to develop an injection called Anti-D, which helps fight against rhesus disease.  Rhesus occurs when a mother with RhD negative blood carries a baby with RhD positive blood, inherited from the father,  and the mother’s body produces antigens to destroy what it senses as a foreign threat — the baby’s red blood cells.  The result can be miscarriages,  stillbirths,  brain damage,  or fatal anaemia in newborns.   It kills thousands of babies a year.

But the Australian’s weekly blood donations since then have saved the lives of an estimated 2.4 million babies and earned him the moniker. “the man with the golden arm.”   He made his final donation last Friday,  aged 81,  when doctors declared he should stop for his own health.   Australia normally ends donations at age 71,  but  James Harrison’s special blood,  and his remarkable fealty to a promise made,  earned him the designation of hero.