Australian Red Cross Lifeblood’s most remarkable donor, James Harrison, known as “The Man with the Golden Arm,” helped save an estimated 2.4 million babies with his rare anti-D antibody.
James Harrison, known as “The Man with the Golden Arm,” died in his sleep at age 88 on February 17, 2025, at a nursing home on Australia’s Central Coast. Over six decades, Harrison donated blood and plasma 1,173 times, despite his fear of needles.
His blood contained a rare antibody called anti-D, which scientists used to develop a treatment for pregnant women whose immune systems might attack their babies’ red blood cells due to blood type incompatibility. This condition, hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, occurs when mothers have RhD-negative blood and their babies inherit RhD-positive blood from their fathers.
Harrison began donating at age 18 in 1954. He was inspired by receiving blood transfusions that saved his life after major lung surgery when he was 14. It’s thought that he developed anti-D antibodies from the transfusions. He continued donating regularly until his retirement at age 81 in 2018.
His daughter, Tracey Mellowship, was among the recipients of anti-D made from his plasma, as was his granddaughter-in-law. “He was a humanitarian at heart, but also very funny,” Mellowship said of her father in an interview with The Independent.
In Australia, Harrison was one of about 200 donors with this rare antibody among 27 million people. His contributions helped develop medication that has benefited approximately 45,000 Australian women annually. In 1999, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia for his extraordinary dedication.
Scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne are working on a project called “James in a Jar” to grow the anti-D antibody in a laboratory setting, potentially helping pregnant women worldwide.
“Saving one baby is good,” Harrison said after his final donation in 2018, as reported by The New York Times. “Saving two million is hard to get your head around, but if they claim that’s what it is, I’m glad to have done it.”
Read the full story (free link) by Amelia Nierenberg in The New York Times on March 4, 2025: James Harrison, Whose Antibodies Helped Millions, Dies at 88
And the story by Maroosha Muzaffar in the Independent on March 4, 2025: ‘Man with the golden arm’: Grandfather whose rare blood saved millions of babies dies aged 88
The original announcement from Austrailian Red Cross Lifeblood: Vale James Harrison OAM
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