{"id":327112,"date":"2025-03-04T12:43:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T18:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=327112"},"modified":"2025-03-07T20:56:52","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T02:56:52","slug":"blood-saved-millions-preborn-babies-died-88","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/blood-saved-millions-preborn-babies-died-88\/","title":{"rendered":"The man whose blood saved millions of preborn babies has died at 88"},"content":{"rendered":"
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James Harrison, the Australian known as \u201cThe Man With the Golden Arm<\/a>” because of a rare antibody in his blood which has saved the lives of millions, has passed away<\/a>. He was 88 years old.<\/p>\n

Harrison initially began donating blood in 1954 at age 18, after he underwent a lifesaving surgery which required multiple blood transfusions. Knowing his life was saved thanks to the generosity of strangers, Harrison wanted to pay it forward once he turned 18. Despite having a fear of needles, he began donating blood and plasma on a regular basis; he currently holds the world record for the most blood donated by an individual.<\/p>\n

But it wasn’t just the blood he donated that has saved so many; after the blood transfusions he received, his body began producing an antibody, which was discovered 10 years after he began donating. It was anti-D, an immunoglobulin given to mothers at risk of developing rhesus D hemolytic disease (HDN), in which antibodies are formed that attack their preborn babies. Thanks to anti-D, these mothers are able to successfully carry babies through an entire pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Without it, babies can develop hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN), a potentially fatal blood disorder.<\/p>\n