‘Man with a golden arm': Australian whose rare blood helped save millions of babies dies at 88

Independent

04-03-2025

James Harrison, who helped save more than two million babies by donating blood over 1,100 times across six decades, has died at 88.
According to the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Harrison, also known as the 'man with a golden arm', had the 'precious antibody in his blood' that was used to make a 'lifesaving medication called Anti-D, given to mothers whose blood is at risk of attacking their unborn babies'.
Harrison died in his sleep at Peninsula Village Nursing Home on the NSW Central Coast on 17 February.
He began donating in 1954 at 18 and continued regularly until his retirement in 2018 at 81. According to Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, he has helped save the lives of more than 2.4 million Australian babies.
Harrison's daughter, Tracey Mellowship, fondly remembered him as a generous soul with a wonderful sense of humour.
'James was a humanitarian at heart, but also very funny,' Ms Mellowship said.
'In his last years, he was immensely proud to become a great grandfather to two beautiful grandchildren, Trey and Addison.
'As an Anti-D recipient myself, he has left behind a family that may not have existed without his precious donations.'
She added: 'He was also very proud to have saved so many lives, without any cost or pain. It made him happy to hear about the many families like ours, who existed because of his kindness.
'He always said it does not hurt, and the life you save could be your own.'
Harrison's rare antibodies were crucial in developing Anti-D, the treatment that has protected millions of newborns from Rhesus disease (or Haemolytic Disease of the Foetus and Newborn) – a condition in which a pregnant woman's blood attacks her unborn baby's red blood cells, potentially leading to brain damage or even death.
It occurs when a mother has RhD-negative blood, while her baby inherits RhD-positive blood from the father. If the mother has been sensitised to RhD-positive blood – often during a previous pregnancy – her immune system may produce antibodies that attack the baby's blood as a foreign threat.
'James was a pioneer of our Anti-D programme. More than 3 million doses of Anti-D containing James' blood have been issued to Aussie mothers with a negative blood type since 1967,' Lifeblood said in a statement on their website.
'He has changed my world and I'm sure he's done that for many other families, making him a very incredible human,' said Rebecca Ind, a recipient of Harrison's blood donations during and after her pregnancy 12 years ago.
In 1999 Harrison was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia – one of the country's most prestigious honours – for his extraordinary dedication to the Lifeblood and Anti-D programme. His kindness leaves a 'remarkable legacy, and he has put the challenge out to the Australian community to beat it', Lifeblood said in the statement.
'I hope it's a record that somebody breaks, because it will mean they are dedicated to the cause,' Harrison said of his last donation at the age of 81.
'It becomes quite humbling when they say, 'oh you've done this or you've done that or you're a hero,'' Harrison said at the time. 'It's something I can do. It's one of my talents, probably my only talent, is that I can be a blood donor.'
At 14, Harrison underwent major chest surgery and relied on the generosity of blood donors to survive. Determined to give back, he vowed to donate as soon as he was eligible – and at 18, he kept his promise, despite a fear of needles.
More than a decade later, doctors discovered that his blood contained a rare antibody essential for producing Anti-D injections. Committed to helping others, Harrison willingly switched to plasma donation, ensuring his contributions could save as many lives as possible.
'James was a remarkable, stoically kind, and generous person who was committed to a lifetime of giving and he captured the hearts of many people around the world,' Lifeblood chief executive officer Stephen Cornelissen was quoted as saying by Australia's Nine News.
'It was James' belief that his donations were no more important than any other donors', and that everyone can be special in the same way that he was.
'James extended his arm to help others and babies he would never know a remarkable 1173 times and expected nothing in return.'
Robyn Barlow, coordinator of Australia's Rh Program – designed to prevent Haemolytic Disease of the Foetus and Newborn (HDFN) – said she had been friends with Harrison for nearly 60 years after first recruiting him as a donor.
'He made my job very easy because he was so keen to donate all the time,' Barlow told 7NEWS.com.au.
'I never had to worry about him – I never had to call and say: 'when you're coming', nothing like that, he was there standing in front of me.'
In an interview with NPR in 2015, Harrison said: 'I was always looking forward to donating, right from the operation, because I don't know how many people it took to save my life.'
Several reports pointed out that doctors were not entirely sure why and how Harrison developed this rare blood antibody, though they suspect it may be linked to the transfusions he received at 14 after his surgery.
'Every batch of Anti-D that has ever been made in Australia has come from James' blood,' Jemma Falkenmire, of the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood (then known as Australian Red Cross Blood Service), told CNN in 2015. 'And more than 17 per cent of women in Australia are at risk, so James has helped save a lot of lives.'
Fewer than 200 people in Australia donate Anti-D, yet their contributions help an estimated 45,000 mothers and babies each year, according to the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood.
Scientists from WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) in Melbourne, in collaboration with Lifeblood, are working on a project called 'James in a Jar' to grow the Anti-D antibody in the lab. Using blood and immune cells from Harrison and other donors, the team has successfully recreated and cultivated the antibody, according to Lifeblood.
This breakthrough could one day help prevent Haemolytic Disease of the Foetus and Newborn, benefiting pregnant women not just in Australia but worldwide, the statement said.