![\"Australian](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/1410\/live\/93bba290-f7df-11ef-b5e9-ab8b0c7fd430.jpg.webp\")
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nOne of the world’s most prolific blood donors – whose plasma saved the lives of more than two million babies – has died.<\/p>\n James Harrison died in his sleep at a nursing home in New South Wales, Australia on 17 February, his family said on Monday. He was 88.<\/p>\n Known in Australia as the man with the golden arm, Harrison’s blood contained a rare antibody, Anti-D, which is used to make medication given to pregnant mothers whose blood is at risk of attacking their unborn babies.<\/p>\n The Australian Red Cross Blood Service who paid tribute to Harrison, said he had pledged to become a donor after receiving transfusions while undergoing a major chest surgery when he was 14.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He started donating his blood plasma when he was 18 and continued doing so every two weeks until he was 81.<\/p>\n In 2005, he had the world record for most blood plasma donated – a title he held until 2022 when he was overtaken by a man in the US.<\/p>\n Harrison’s daughter, Tracey Mellowship, said her father was “very proud to have saved so many lives, without any cost or pain”. <\/p>\n “He always said it does not hurt, and the life you save could be your own,” she said.<\/p>\n Mellowship and two of Harrison’s grandchildren are also recipients of anti-D immunisations. <\/p>\n “It made [James] happy to hear about the many families like ours, who existed because of his kindness,” she said.<\/p>\n Anti-D jabs protect unborn babies from a deadly blood disorder called haemolytic disease of the foetus and newborn, or HDFN.<\/p>\n The condition occurs at pregnancy when the mother’s red blood cells are incompatible with that of their growing baby. <\/p>\n The mother’s immune system then sees the baby’s blood cells as a threat and produces antibodies to attack them. This can seriously harm the baby, causing severe anaemia, heart failure, or even death.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Before anti-D interventions were developed in the mid-1960s, one in two babies diagnosed with HDFN died. <\/p>\n It is unclear how Harrison’s blood came to be so rich in anti-D, but some reports said it had to do with the massive blood transfusion he received at 14.<\/p>\n There are fewer than 200 anti-D donors in Australia, but they help an estimated 45,000 mothers and their babies every year, according to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, also known as Lifeblood.<\/p>\n Lifeblood has been working with Australia’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research to grow anti-D antibodies in the lab by replicating blood and immune cells from Harrison and other donors. <\/p>\n Researchers involved hope lab-made anti-D can one day be used to help pregnant women worldwide.<\/p>\n “Creating a new therapy has long been a ‘holy grail’,” Lifeblood’s research director David Irving said.<\/p>\n He noted the scarcity of donors committed to regular donation, who are able to produce antibodies in sufficient quality and quantity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/e9ba\/live\/0926afc0-f7e0-11ef-b5e9-ab8b0c7fd430.jpg.webp\")
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n