At the age of 14, James Harrison had a major chest operation and he required 13 units (3. 4 gallons) of blood afterwards. The blood donations saved his life, and he decided that once he turned 18, he would begin donating blood as regularly as he could.
More than 60 years and almost 1, 200 donations later, Harrison, whose blood contains an antibody(抗体) that has saved the lives of 2. 4 million babies from miscarriages (流产), retired as a blood donor on May 11. Harrison's blood is valuable because he naturally produces Rh-negative blood, which contains Rh-positive antibodies. His blood has been used to create anti-D in Australia since 1967.
"Every bottle of anti-D ever made in Australia has James in it," Robyn Barlow, the Rh program director told the Sydney Morning Herald. "It's an amazing thing. He has saved millions of babies. I cry just thinking about it." Since then, Harrison has donated between 500 and 800 milliliters of blood almost every week. He's made 1, 162 donations from his right arm and 10 from his left.
"I'd keep going if they let me," Harrison told the Herald. His doctors said it was time to stop the donations—and they certainly don't take them lightly. They had already extended the age limit for blood donations for him, and they're cutting him off now to protect his health. He made his final donation surrounded by some of the mothers and babies who his blood helped save.
Harrison's retirement is a blow to the Rh treatment program in Australia. Only 160 donors support the program, and finding new donors has proven to be difficult. But Harrison's retirement from giving blood doesn't mean he's completely out of the game. Scientists are collecting and cataloging his DNA to create a library of antibodies and white blood cells that could be the future of the anti-D program in Australia.
