James Harrison (blood donor) James Harrison, OAM, also known as the Man with the golden arm, is a blood plasma donor[1] from Australia whose unusual plasma composition has been used to make a treatment for Rhesus disease.
He has made over 1000 donations throughout his lifetime, and these donations are estimated to have saved over two million unborn babies from the condition.[1][2][3] James Harrison was born in 1936. At the age of 13, he underwent major chest surgery, requiring 13 litres of blood.[2] After surgery, he was in the hospital for three months. Realizing the blood had saved his life, he made a pledge to start donating blood as soon as he turned eighteen, the then-required age.[2] Harrison started donating in 1954 and after the first few donations it was discovered that his blood contained an unusually strong and persistent antibody called Rho(D) Immune Globulin. As blood plasma, in contrast to blood, can be donated as often as every 2–3 weeks, he was able to reach his 1000th donation in May 2011. 'Man with the golden arm' James Harrison saves 2million babies in half a century of donating rare blood. By Mail Foreign Service Updated: 01:43 GMT, 23 March 2010 Life-saver: James Harrison has donated his rare blood nearly 1,000 times An Australian man who has been donating his extremely rare kind of blood for 56 years has saved the lives of more than two million babies.
James Harrison, 74, has an antibody in his plasma that stops babies dying from Rhesus disease, a form of severe anaemia. He has enabled countless mothers to give birth to healthy babies, including his own daughter, Tracey, who had a healthy son thanks to her father's blood. Mr Harrison has been giving blood every few weeks since he was 18 years old and has now racked up a total of 984 donations. When he started donating, his blood was deemed so special his life was insured for one million Australian dollars. He was also nicknamed the 'man with the golden arm' or the 'man in two million'. His blood has since led to the development of a vaccine called Anti-D. He said: 'I've never thought about stopping. 'I wasn't scared. Don Ritchie. Ritchie explained his intervention in suicide attempts saying "you can't just sit there and watch them".[5]
Australian "Angel" Saves Lives at Suicide Spot. In this photo taken May 25, 2010, Don Ritchie looks out his window at his home in Sydney, Australia.
For almost 50 years Ritchie, widely regarded as a guardian angel, has used simple kindness to shepherd countless suicidal people away from the edge. AP Photo/Jeremy Piper In those bleak moments when the lost souls stood atop the cliff, wondering whether to jump, the sound of the wind and the waves was broken by a soft voice. "Why don't you come and have a cup of tea? " the stranger would ask. For almost 50 years, Don Ritchie has lived across the street from Australia's most notorious suicide spot, a rocky cliff at the entrance to Sydney Harbour called The Gap.
What some consider grim, Ritchie considers a gift. "You can't just sit there and watch them," says Ritchie, now 84, perched on his beloved green leather chair, from which he keeps a watchful eye on the cliff outside. In the meantime, Ritchie keeps up his voluntary watch. "He's an angel," she says. (AP Photo/Jeremy Piper)