An Australia man name James Harrison blood has save two million babies. James Harrison had one of his lungs removed at the age of 14. His operation was a success even though James had lost a lot of blood. When he learned he was alive thanks to unknown blood donors around Australia, James set out to donate blood himself.
James had to wait until he was 18 to be legally allowed to start donating. Soon, doctors noticed something special about James' blood. There was a very rare antibody—possibly the result of the numerous transfusions—flowing through James that had the potential to save the lives of unborn children.
The antibody in James' blood was turned into a vaccine called Anti-D that prevents the production of the attacking antibodies. In Australia, it's estimated that 17% of women are at risk for rhesus disease. James is now 78 and has donated blood plasma over 1,100 times. His blood is in all of the Anti-D vaccines in Australia, and is responsible for saving lives elsewhere around the world. James claims he's neveronce watched the needles go in, saying "I can't stand the sight of blood, and I can't stand pain." I mean, what a guy. Every week for decades and he hates it, but someone has to save the babies. Australia was one of the first countriesto discover a blood donor with this antibody, so it was quite revolutionary at the time.
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