James Harrison, the renowned Australian blood donor credited with saving over two million babies, has passed away at the age of 88. Harrison, famously known as the “Man with the Golden Arm,” carried a rare and vital antibody called Anti-D in his plasma. Over his lifetime, he donated blood more than 1,100 times, according to Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, which confirmed his passing in a statement released Saturday, per CNN.
He died peacefully in his sleep at a nursing home north of Sydney on February 17.
His extraordinary commitment to blood donation was inspired by his own experience—at 14, he required multiple blood transfusions following lung surgery. Determined to give back, he began donating plasma at 18 and continued every two weeks until he reached 81, the maximum donation age in Australia.
