Man Saves 2 Million Babies Donating Blood, Even Though He 'Can't Stand Pain'

His blood is a precious gift. An incredibly unique antibody in Harrison's blood makes it a true lifesaver for babies who could be affected by rhesus disease.

James Harrison, 78, known as "The Man with the Golden Arm," is an Australian man who has donated blood almost every week  for about 60 years, saving more than 2 million babies in the process.

Rhesus disease occurs when a pregnant woman who has rhesus-negative blood produces antibodies that destroy her babies' cells. This can happen when the baby inherits rhesus-positive blood from the father.

The University of Rochester Medical Center points out that rhesus disease can cause anemia and organ enlargement in babies, among many other complications.  In worst cases it can result in brain damage, or death for the babies.

Doctors are not exactly sure why Harrison has this rare blood type but they think it might be from the transfusions he received when he was 14, after his lung surgery. Harrison's blood helped physicians develop an injection called Anti-D in the 1960s, which prevents women who have rhesus-negative blood from developing the destructive antibodies while pregnant. After Harrison completes one of his routine donations, the plasma from his blood is put toward creating more vaccines.

"I started donating in 1955, two days after I turned 18," Harrison told Sunshine Coast Daily last year. The outlet had documented his 1,075th donation.

Every Anti-D vaccine created in Australia can be credited to a donation from Harrison, who holds the record for most blood donations Down Under, CNN reported.

"A number of mothers have come up to me and said, 'Thank you very much for what you've done, because I now I have one, two, three healthy children,'" Harrison told Ten News in 2011.

Tracey Mellowship, Harrison's own daughter, had been one of the approximately 17 percent of women in Australia who need Anti-D during their pregnancy. The injection helped guarantee her second son would be born healthy.

"Dad had always donated - we knew that," Mellowship told Ten News. "But until I was pregnant and knew the consequences, then it sort of hit home."

Harrison has won numerous awards and was considered a national hero. He has now donated his plasma more than 1,000 times, but no matter how many times he's given blood there's one thing that will never change: "Never once have I watched the needle go in my arm," he says.

"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."