James Harrison was just 14-years-old he had to under go surgery in his chest. The surgery required 13 liters of blood to be transferred to Harrison. During the 3 months he spent in the hospital, he realized the blood that was given to him saved his life.
After he was saved due to blood transfusion, he made a pledge to return the favor and start donating blood to help save lives once he was old enough. He made his first donation in 1954 and that’s when he discovered something extraordinary about his blood.
It was discovered that Harrison retains a very rare blood type in his veins. It contains a very strong antibody which can fight against the disease Rhesus.
Even mild cases of Rhesus may cause anemia in newborn infants causing damage to the brain and sometimes threaten their lives.
Harrison’s blood is injected into babies with the disease to cure them. So far, his blood has helped save approximately 2.4 million babies worldwide, including his own grandchild.
This 77-year-old man has been donating his blood and saving lives for 59 years. As a result of the rarity of his blood plasma, he began to be known as “the man with the golden arm” and is revered as a hero.
He is a modest man though and claims the real heroes are the ones fighting on the front lines and emergency personnel. His modesty however, hasn’t prevented his homeland from noticing his amazing gift.
Harrison has been awarded the highest citizen honors in Australia, and deservedly so.
