In 1951, James Harrison, a 14-year-old boy from Australia, woke up from a major chest surgery. Doctors removed one of his lungs and left him hospitalized for three months. During this difficult time, Harrison knew he was alive in large part because he had received a large supply of blood. After that, he vowed that he himself would become a donor to save the sick who were caught in the water.
Shortly after Harrison became a donor, doctors told Harrison that his blood might solve a fatal problem. According to the local Red Cross Blood Service, "In Australia, thousands of babies died every year until around 1967, and the cause of these horrific events was Rhesus Monkey disease – allegedly a blood disorder in which the mother's blood would resist and destroy the baby's blood cells." Doctors discovered that Harrison had a rare antibody in his blood and used it to develop an injection called Anti-D to prevent misfortune that occurred during pregnancy.
The Blood Service also said no more than 50 people in Australia are known to possess the antibody. So, every bag of blood is extremely precious; because of this, Harrison saved the lives of many people, about 2.4 million to be exact. To date, Harrison has completed 1173 plasma donations, his right arm 1163 and his left 10, hence the name "The Man with the Golden Arm".
However, Mr Harrison had already exceeded the age limit for blood donors and the Blood Service allowed Mr Harrison to make one last blood donation to protect his health.