James Harrison, Who Has Helped Save Lives of More Than 2.4 Million Australian Babies, Retires (cnn.com)

Most people, when they retire, get a gold watch. James Harrison deserves so much more than that. From a report: Harrison, known as the "Man With the Golden Arm," has donated blood nearly every week for 60 years. After all those donations, the 81-year-old Australian man "retired" Friday. The occasion marked the end of a monumental chapter. According to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, he has helped saved the lives of more than 2.4 million Australian babies. Harrison's blood has unique, disease-fighting antibodies that have been used to develop an injection called Anti-D, which helps fight against rhesus disease. This disease is a condition where a pregnant woman's blood actually starts attacking her unborn baby's blood cells. In the worst cases, it can result in brain damage, or death, for the babies.

Comments

Re:Nearly every week?

[Minupla]

Speaking as a father whose daughter survived because of this injection (not his exactly - we're on the other side of the world), but who cares really) I'd just like to publicly thank this man for his time and humanity. It's easy to poke fun at the statistics and such, but let's all take a moment to acknowledge that this gentleman took time out of his life EVERY WEEK FOR 60 YEARS to give something precious that improved lives for millions of people.

Imagine you and your wife (or vice versa) are in your first trimester and she starts bleeding a bit. You rush to ER and they do blood work, and you realize to your horror that your blood is killing your child. And then the doctors say to your wife "sign here, we've made a vaccine that we're going to give you that should stop it". I literally sobbed.

My daughter is playing on her computer behind me as I type this and can't see the tears in my eyes.

Give the man a medal.

Min