Australia’s Most Generous Blood Plasma Donor Dies Aged 88 

In this May 2011, photo provided by Australian Red Cross Lifeblood donor James Harrison, credited with saving 2.4 million babies through his record-breaking blood plasma donations over decades, is giving blood at donation center in Sydney. (Australian Red Cross Lifeblood via AP)
In this May 2011, photo provided by Australian Red Cross Lifeblood donor James Harrison, credited with saving 2.4 million babies through his record-breaking blood plasma donations over decades, is giving blood at donation center in Sydney. (Australian Red Cross Lifeblood via AP)
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Australia’s Most Generous Blood Plasma Donor Dies Aged 88 

In this May 2011, photo provided by Australian Red Cross Lifeblood donor James Harrison, credited with saving 2.4 million babies through his record-breaking blood plasma donations over decades, is giving blood at donation center in Sydney. (Australian Red Cross Lifeblood via AP)
In this May 2011, photo provided by Australian Red Cross Lifeblood donor James Harrison, credited with saving 2.4 million babies through his record-breaking blood plasma donations over decades, is giving blood at donation center in Sydney. (Australian Red Cross Lifeblood via AP)

An Australian man credited with saving 2.4 million babies through his record-breaking blood plasma donations over six decades, has died aged 88, his family said on Tuesday.

James Harrison, a retired state railway department clerk, died in a nursing home where he had lived for five weeks on the Central Coast of New South Wales state on Feb. 17, according to his grandson, Jarrod Mellowship.

Harrison had been surprised to be recognized by Guinness World Records in 2005 as the person who had donated the most blood plasma in the world, Mellowship said.

Despite an aversion to needles, he made 1,173 donations after he turned 18 in 1954 until he was forced to retire in 2018, aged 81.

“He did it for the right reasons. As humble as he was, he did like the attention. But he would never do it for the attention,” Mellowship said.

The record was beaten in 2022 by American Brett Cooper from Walker, Michigan.

Australian Red Cross Blood Service pays tribute to donor The Australian Red Cross Blood Service said Harrison was renowned as the “Man with the Golden Arm.”

He was credited with saving the lives of 2.4 million babies through his plasma donations, the national agency responsible for collecting and distributing blood products, also known as Lifeblood, said in a statement.

Harrison’s plasma contained a rare antibody known as anti-D. The antibody is used to make injections that protect unborn babies from a deadly condition called Haemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn, or HDFN. The disease causes a pregnant woman’s immune system to attack the fetus’s red blood cells.

Australia has only 200 anti-D donors who help 45,000 mothers and their babies annually.

Lifeblood chief executive Stephen Cornelissen said Harrison had hoped that someone in Australia would one day beat his donation record.

“James was a remarkable, stoically kind and generous person who was committed to a lifetime of giving and he captured the hearts of many people around the world,” Cornelissen said in a statement.

“It was James’ belief that his donations were no more important than any other donors' and that everyone can be special in the same way that he was,” Cornelissen added.

Antibody helps donor's family Mellowship said his mother, Tracey Mellowship, Harrison’s daughter, needed the treatment when he and his brother Scott were born.

Jarrod Mellowship said his own wife, Rebecca Mellowship, also needed the treatment when three of their four children were born.

There is speculation that Harrison developed a high concentrations of anti-D as a result of his own blood transfusions during major lung surgery when he was 14 years old.

“After the surgery, his dad Reg told grandad you’re only really alive because people donated blood,” Jarrod Mellowship said. “The day he turned 18, he started donating.”

The application of anti-D in fighting HDFN was not discovered until the 1960s.

Harrison was born in Junee in New South Wales. He is survived by his sister Margaret Thrift, his daughter, two grandsons and four great grandchildren.



Photos Show a Filipino Couple Walking Down a Flooded Aisle on Their Wedding Day

Newlyweds Jade Rick Verdillo right, and Jamaica walk hand in hand during their wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Newlyweds Jade Rick Verdillo right, and Jamaica walk hand in hand during their wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
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Photos Show a Filipino Couple Walking Down a Flooded Aisle on Their Wedding Day

Newlyweds Jade Rick Verdillo right, and Jamaica walk hand in hand during their wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Newlyweds Jade Rick Verdillo right, and Jamaica walk hand in hand during their wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Jade Rick Verdillo and Jamaica Aguilar were determined to walk down the aisle on their wedding day. Even if it meant walking down a flooded one.

On Tuesday, the Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines flooded due to heavy rain. Typhoon Whipa had intensified seasonal monsoon rains in the Philippines, bringing widespread flooding.

The couple anticipated the risk of flooding, but instead of letting the weather dampen the mood, they decided to push through, as all marriages have their challenges.

“We just mustered enough courage,” said Verdillo. “We decided today because it is a sacrifice in itself. But there will more sacrifices if we don’t push through today.”

Aguilar waded down the aisle with her white dress and wedding train floating behind her through waters almost up to her knees. At the altar, Verdillo was waiting to receive her while wearing an embroidered shirt called a Barong Tagalog, worn during special occasions.

The newlyweds have been together for 10 years. The groom said, “I feel that challenges won’t be over. It’s just a test. This is just one of the struggles that we’ve overcome.”

Despite the turbulent weather, some family and friends made it to the wedding.

“You will see love prevailed because even against weather, storm, rains, floods, the wedding continued,” said Jiggo Santos, a wedding guest. “It’s an extraordinary wedding.”