"The Man with the Golden Arm" by James Harrison

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

People with golden hands are rare, one of them is James Harrison. This is an ordinary pensioner living in Australia. However, people around the world speak of him as a man with a golden hand. James Harrison is called that because he is an honorary donor. He has donated blood from his right arm more than 1,000 times. During all this time, James Harrison has saved a huge number of people from death.

Biography

James Harrison was born December 27, 1936 in the Australian city of Sydney. After reaching adulthood, James became a blood donor and donated blood every two weeks for 60 years.

His family has always supported and been proud of him, because James Harrison became a true hero of Australia and the whole world. Harrison is currently 81 years old and no longer donates blood, but his selfless act has become an example for many followers.

Decision to donate

The decision to become a donor came to James Harrison not by chance. When he was still a teenager at the age of 14, he underwent a very difficult operation, due to which helost a lot of blood. After that, Harrison received a transfusion of 13 liters of donated blood. He spent 3 months in the hospital, and he was very touched by the fact that complete strangers, who donated their blood for free and voluntarily, helped save his life. After such a rescue, a 14-year-old boy decided for himself that he would definitely become a donor. Harrison kept his promise. From the age of 18 until he was 76, James regularly donated blood.

Unique Blood

"The Man with the Golden Arm" Harrison is known for his unique blood properties. When he first came to the clinic as a donor, doctors found out that his blood has very rare, unique properties. The fact is that Harrison's blood plasma contains antibodies that can prevent Rh conflict during pregnancy.

If a woman with an Rh-negative gene has a fetus with an Rh-positive gene, then this can cause an Rh conflict. This can lead to such consequences as: anemia, jaundice in the baby, and even the birth of a dead baby. The antibodies in Harrison's blood can prevent this Rh conflict. The "man with the golden hand" James himself, having learned about this, began to donate blood as many times as was the maximum allowable. A special antibiotic is made from his blood, which is given to women with Rhesus conflict. Harrison's daughter also took an antibiotic after the birth of her first child. She is very proud of her fatherand I am grateful to him for the he alth of my baby. So far, doctors have not identified why Harrison's plasma has such properties, perhaps the operation performed at the age of 13 affected the composition of the blood.

Life insurance

After it was discovered that James Harrison's blood had plasma with unique properties, his life was insured for $1 million. Since doctors at that time did not find a vaccine for this blood disease, thousands of children and babies died and could not be saved.

The blood of James Harrison gave the opportunity to live and be he althy to a huge number of people. James's wife, Barbara, died at the age of 56, but Harrison did not leave his life's work, he continued to give people a chance to be he althy and happy.

World record

James Harrison is an unusual donor in every way. In addition to the fact that his blood has a unique composition, he also got into the Guinness Book of Records. In his entire life, James Harrison donated blood more than 1,000 times, this is the highest record in the world. He was reached by our hero in 2011 at the age of 75.

This man has donated blood for 60 years, saving millions of lives. He visited the blood station 2-3 times a week, as often as possible. In addition to entering the Guinness Book of Records, Harrison was awarded the Order of Australia.

Golden Hand

Usually, when they say that a person has golden hands, they meanhow good he is at what he does, and that he always does well. In addition, there is an American film "The Man with the Golden Arm". However, in the case of James Harrison, the meaning is somewhat different. He got such a nickname due to the fact that he donated blood almost all his life, and it contains plasma with unique properties. All this allows us to speak of James Harrison as "a man with a golden hand".

Saving people

Thanks to James Harrison and his unique blood, more than 2 million mothers with children, including his own wife and daughter, have been saved. Scientists are currently isolating about 50 more people in Australia who have the same antibodies as James Harrison. This allows him to quietly retire and leave saving lives to other people with golden hands. James Harrison is a national hero of Australia as well as the whole world. His selfless example encourages a large number of young boys and girls who have reached the age of majority to do a good deed - to donate blood not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of other people. James himself believes that if every person who donates blood brings at least one friend, this will help save the lives of millions of people in the world.

James Harrison is not only a donor with a golden hand, but also a man with a big heart. In everyday life, none of the people will even think that this is a person who is known to the whole world. Harrison leads a very ordinary life and all hisspends free time with his family. People with golden hands like James Harrison don't shout about themselves on every corner, they just give what they have without asking for anything in return.