https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y4xqe60gyo
'One of the world's most prolific blood donors - whose plasma saved the lives
of more than two million babies - has died.
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.
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.
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.
He started donating his blood plasma when he was 18 and continued doing so
every two weeks until he was 81.
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.
Harrison's daughter, Tracey Mellowship, said her father was "very proud to have
saved so many lives, without any cost or pain".
"He always said it does not hurt, and the life you save could be your own," she
said.
Mellowship and two of Harrison's grandchildren are also recipients of anti-D
immunisations.
"It made [James] happy to hear about the many families like ours, who existed
because of his kindness," she said.'
Via Susan ****
RIP,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
