Man with the 'golden arm' who gave blood for 60 years donates for last time

James Harrison is a hero unlike you've come across before.

The 81-year-old Australian has been giving blood for the last 60 years, and in the process helped save the babies of more than 2 million Australian women.

Harrison's blood contains an antibody used to make a medication called Anti-D, which is given to mothers with a negative blood type.

It prevents haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN), which can result in anaemia, heart failure, and even death in newborn babies. Before the Anti-D discovery in the 1960s, thousands of babies were killed from the disease.

Dubbed the man with the "golden arm," Harrison completed his last donation on Friday after giving blood more than 1,100 times. Australia's Red Cross Blood Service only allows donors to keep giving until their 81st birthday.

"It’s a sad day for me. The end of a long run," Harrison told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I'd keep on going if they'd let me."

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At 14 years old, Harrison had major chest surgery in which he needed the blood of strangers. After the surgery, he pledged to give blood when able to — and he's done so every fortnight since.

"We'll never see his kind again ... that he has been well and fit and his veins strong enough to continue to donate for so long is very, very rare," Robyn Barlow, the program coordinator who recruited Harrison, told the newspaper.

In 1999, Harrison was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service. Of course, his retirement has prompted calls for people to follow in his footsteps.

"Australia owes a big thank you to James Harrison, Australia became the first country in the world to be self-sufficient in the supply of Anti-D, and cases of HDN are rare," Australian Red Cross Blood Service spokesperson Jemma Falkenmire said in a statement online.

"Medications like Anti-D are a life-giving intervention for thousands of Australian mums, but they are only available because men like James give blood."