James Harrison, 78, is known as 'The Man with the Golden Arm' because for the past 60 years he has donated blood to about two million babies.
Although he's been recognised as a hero and been given awards, James insists that there's one thing he's never done in more than 1,000 donations: "Never once have I watched the needle go in my arm.
"I look at the ceiling or the nurses, maybe talk to them a bit, but never once have I watched the needle go in my arm. I can't stand the sight of blood, and I can't stand pain."
James told CNN “In 1951, I had a chest operation where they removed a lung when I was 14.
"When I came out of the operation, or a couple days after, my father was explaining what had happened.
"He said I had [received] 13 units of blood and my life had been saved by unknown people.
"He was a donor himself, so I said when I'm old enough; I'll become a blood donor."
Jemma Falkenmire, of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service explains: "In Australia, up until about 1967, there were literally thousands of babies dying each year, doctors didn't know why, and it was awful."
The deaths were as a result of rheusus disease, a condition where antibodies in a pregnant woman's blood destroy her baby's blood cells.
But James' blood had an antibody in it which could save lives, doctors found, and may be traced back to his transfusions decades ago.
In the 1960s he teamed up with doctors who invented an injection called Anti-D, a medicine used in preventing antibody formation in rhesus negative women who have a rhesus positive baby.
Australia was one of the first countries to find a donor with the antibody, and James was at the forefront of the lifesaving science.
To date, James and Anti-D have been credited by the Australian Red Cross blood service for saving the lives of two million children.He is one of just 50 people in Australia who the blood service are aware have the antibody.
Jemma explains: "Every bag of blood is precious, but James' blood is particularly extraordinary.
"Every batch of Anti-D that has ever been made in Australia has come from James' blood, and more than 17% of women in Australia are at risk, so James has helped save a lot of lives."
source:mirrorUK
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