Blood Donation Concept. Photo: BlackJack3D (Getty)
I have written so many stories about guys jerking off in Burger King or calling 911 because they thought their wives stole their cocaine stash, I almost forgot good people still exist on this planet.
But in the case of 81-year-old James Harrison, simply calling him a good guy would be doing him a disservice. This hero has donated so much blood over the last 60 years that he alone is responsible for saving the lives of…wait for it…2.4 million babies.
According to CNN, Harrison is one of no more than 50 people in Australia known to have “unique, disease-fighting antibodies” in their blood that can be used to create an injection called Anti-D. Anti-D works wonders against rhesus disease, a condition that can result in brain damage or death for an unborn child.
The craziest part of the story might be Harrison possibly carrying the antibodies in his bloodstream as a result of blood donations he received during a major chest surgery when he was 14. It was at that point he decided to return the favor and donate as much blood as possible. An insane amount that would go on to save the lives of millions of babies. After all, more than 17 percent of Australian women are at risk for rhesus.
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Australian officials have called Harrison the “Man With the Golden Arm” and also an “absolute game changer.” He is even responsible for his second grandson being born healthy.
“That makes you feel good yourself that you saved a life there,” Harrison said. “And you saved many more and that’s great.”
Now 81 years old and on the heels of donating blood every week for the last 60 years, Harrison is calling it quits. However, it’s only because you can’t legally donate blood past the age of 81. Extremely humble, Harrison claimed donating blood was his only talent. We, of course, know that isn’t the case. He should also be proud of knowing he’s probably the owner of the world’s largest heart.
