James Harrison, an Australian prolific blood donor, dies at 88

(CNN) – James Harrisona prolific Australian blood donor Famous because he saved the life of over two million babies, he died at 88.

Harrison, whose plasma contained a “rare and precious antibody” known as anti-D, donated blood more than 1,100 times, according to the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, which confirmed death in a statement published on Saturday.

Harrison, who was known as the “man with the gold arm”, died in a sleep at a northern medical care house on Sydney, on February 17, according to the statement.

Harrison’s altruistic mission was determined by the fact that it received several blood transfusions following a pulmonary surgery at 14 years.

He started donating plasma at 18 and did this every two weeks to 81 years old, the older age limit in blood donation in Australia.

Executive Director Lifeblood, Stephen Cornelissen, welcomed Harrison’s dedication.

“James was a remarkable, kind and generous person who hired him in life and captured the hearts of many people from all over the world,” Cornelissen said in the statement.

“James expanded his arm to help others and babies, he would never know a remarkable 1173 times and expected nothing in return.”

Harrison’s daughter, Tracey Mellowship, said her father “was a humanitarian at heart.”

“As an anti-D recipient, he left behind a family that may not have existed without his precious donations,” she said in the statement.

“He was also very proud that he saved so many lives, without any cost or pain. He made him happy to hear about the many families like ours, who existed because of his kindness. “

Anti-D is used to make a drug given to pregnant mothers whose blood would attack the blood cells of unborn babies, known as Rhesus disease.

The condition develops when a pregnant woman has negative Rhesus (negative RHD) blood, and the child in her belly has a positive Rhesus (RHD positive) blood, inherited from her father.

If the mother has been sensitized to positive blood with Rhesus, usually during a previous pregnancy with a positive child with Rhesus, she can produce antibodies that destroy the “foreign” blood cells.

In the most serious cases, babies can be damaged by the brain or die.

Anti-D, a product with Harrison’s antibodies, prevents women with negative blood Rhesus from developing RHD antibodies during pregnancy.

The discovery of Harrison’s antibodies was an absolute game exchanger, Australian officials said.

“In Australia, until 1967, there were literally thousands of babies who die every year, doctors did not know why and was awful. The women had numerous abortions and the babies were born with brain injury ”, Jemma Falkenmire, from the blood service of the Australian Red Cross, CNN said in 2015.

“Australia was one of the first countries to discover a blood donor with this antibody, so he was quite revolutionary at that time.”

Considered a national hero, Harrison has won numerous awards for his generosity, including the Australian order medal, one of the country’s biggest honors.

By Jack Guy, CNN