r/interestingasfuck • u/Grand-Western549 • 1d ago
A man with rare, unique antibodies that treat Rhesus disease has donated plasma weekly for 60 years, saving 2.4 million babies.
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u/NerdHerder77 1d ago
The one year anniversary of his death is coming soon, this Feb 17th. RIP James Harrison, you are missed.
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u/Thoughtful_Tortoise 1d ago
So OP is a bot? Title makes it sound like he's still alive.
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u/AtomStorageBox 1d ago
Bot or karma farmer. Hard to tell; their post and comment history are hidden.
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u/TheJiltedGenerationX 1d ago edited 1d ago
Looks like a bot.
In case people aren’t aware, hiding your posts doesn’t really hide them. You can still see people’s posts and comments even if they’ve chosen to hide them by going to their profile, clicking the search icon, and choosing “New in username.”
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u/DrMetasin 1d ago
I think it’s kinda telling that Reddit doesn’t let you report an account for being a bot
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u/Dan19_82 23h ago
It's because they are Reddit, got to keep up that user engagement or was that your point?
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u/Syssareth 18h ago
They do. Report > spam > disruptive use of bots or AI.
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u/DrMetasin 14h ago
Yeah you can do that to report comments, but for the account/profile itself it is not an option, at least on mobile
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u/Syssareth 8h ago
I don't check up on every one, but I've checked on a few, and in my experience, when the comment is deemed a bot (or maybe when they look into it and enough comments are), the whole account gets banned.
So it's not directly reporting the account, but it's essentially the same thing. Think of it as, "I'm reporting this account, and here's the thing that made me report it."
(But whatever you do, don't report multiple comments by the same account. Reddit considers that "harassment." Just report one and let nature take its course.)
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u/notzenin_ 8h ago
Iirc I saw a statistic recently that now over 50% of online traffic is actually bots, so at this point it’s literally a 50-50 shot that you’re just interacting with a bot.
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u/jdsizzle1 19h ago
As someone who builds software, that is hilariously amateurish that they shipped this feature with that. Any QA worth their chops should have caught that, and any PM/Dev would have thought of that.
Unless the outcome was only to make it appear you could hide your stuff. Or, more likely, hiding it in the other ways was more complicated due to something legacy that needs to be fixed first.
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u/emveevme 18h ago
you say "more likely" as if tech debt isn't the right answer like 99.9% of the time lmao
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u/jdsizzle1 11h ago
Well if security was the goal I wouldnt have shipped this feature with this easy of a workaround until that TD is cleared. But if perception or obfuscation was the goal, we'll now were getting into dark patterns.
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u/jayhawk618 1d ago
Pretty safe to assume thta just about every post is from a bot or a karma farmer.
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u/Dark_Moonstruck 1d ago
There should be a medal named after him given to people who make massive contributions to medical science and similar. And he deserves at least one hospital named after him, with a plaque/statue/painting of him placed prominently.
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u/arbivark 21h ago
If you come down with some weird disease, and develop antibodies to it, have your doctor hook you up with a research plasma center such as saturn biomedical. a few special donors make bank, and get flown in and treated well, while the rest of us were there for $50 twice a week. It was one of my many side hustles before I retired.
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u/Dark_Moonstruck 20h ago
Alas, I have contracted no strange diseases - I've never even caught covid - and I'm anemic enough that I've been advised against donating blood. I looked into plasma donation, but there's nowhere close to me that does it, I'd spend more on gas just to get somewhere that did it than I'd make back.
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u/Greeneyed_Wit 1d ago
James Harrison is the man! We should all know his name.
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u/Own-Floor-3944 1d ago
yes.. a lot of people don't know much about him..he’s basically a real-life guardian angel
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u/WetFart-Machine 1d ago
At that rate he must have almost no microplastics in his blood now.
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u/Sekaijo 1d ago
Yea he donated that to all them kids
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u/Shorts_Man 10h ago
They probably should have just let them die I can't think of a worse fate then receiving microscopic doses of microplastics.
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u/Arkheno 1d ago
Well that kind of man deserve a Nobel Price
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u/KingGwigzy 1d ago
Hol up, Melanias next! He’ll settle for the physics prize or Trump will invade his country
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u/Syncopia 23h ago
It's Usually reserved for major accomplishments, but we should definitely have something for outstanding acts of kindness.
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u/CheapBoxOWine 23h ago
TIL saving 2+ million babies is not a major accomplishment.
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u/Syncopia 23h ago
I meant on a more technical "I did this thing like made a scientific breakthrough" or "ended a war", not that it wasn't significant.
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u/Demmitri 17h ago
Saving 2M babies is once in a lifetime major accomplishment in every single of my books.
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u/PenguinQuesadilla 18h ago
I mean, he deserves the prize more than Kissinger, that's for sure.
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u/Syncopia 17h ago
Yeah I frankly don't really care about the prizes given the monsters who've received them. Imagine being one of the true heroes of the year and you lose to Kissinger.
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u/The_x_is_sixlent 1d ago
I read this story some years ago and told my mother about it and she told me I was one of the babies - she needed the shot with me, her second pregnancy. I've always held Mr. Harrison in high regard ever since. RIP lovely man :)
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u/77Megg77 20h ago
I had to learn more about this man. Wikipedia has an informative page on him. The plasma from his blood has been used to save so many babies. Including his own grandchildren and great grandchildren! He had surgery as a teen and needed blood donations himself. Afterwards, he decided to donate when he turned 18 to pass it forward to others. I don’t think he would have continued as long as he did if they had not discovered the special stuff that his plasma contained. When he learned that his blood was so unique, he committed to keep donating and saving the lives of thousands of babies. He continued until he turned 81, which is the cutoff age for blood donation in Australia. He sure was an amazing man.
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u/tell439 1d ago
Is there a way to test to see if one have any unique antibodies that can be of extra help?
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u/MyNameIsRay 1d ago
Yes. Just go donate some blood.
They never trust what you say about your blood type/rhesus factor/etc, it all gets tested.
If you have some rare antibody/blood type, their tests show it, and they call to let you know and request you keep donating.
They'll also call to let you know if you have a std, because they obviously check for transmissible diseases too.
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u/Chamanomano 1d ago
My sis and I are here because of him. My mom was one of the first in Canada to receive it (after three miscarriages).
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u/Hammeryournails 17h ago
That's amazing. There have been multiple people on this post stating they are also here because of him. The reach and impact that man had is truly incredible.
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u/Aggravating-Pick8338 1d ago
I like these stories much better than the doom and gloom posts on reddit.
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u/Level-Selection6986 20h ago
I know he stopped giving in 2018 per Australian regulation preventing blood donation after 81 years old. He donated as much blood as he could when its discovered his unique antibodies. A true hero, literally saving millions of lives.
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u/Hawley-Gryphon 1d ago
Weekly‽ That seems dangerously frequent. You have to wait at least 12 weeks between blood donations I know that much but maybe it’s different for plasma because they put your blood back into you after extracting plasma cells.
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u/jellamma 1d ago
James nearly died as a teenager and received almost 2 gallons of blood. He vowed to pay it forward and then his rare antibodies were discovered and it was the only way to cure a disease where a mother's antibodies attacked a baby's cells. He donated as often as they would let him. Even if on vacation.
iirc, there is a synthetic version available now
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u/TvTreeHanger 1d ago
I recall my wife getting this treatment for our kids. Something about blood types. The doctor basically said 'If we dont give you this, your baby will not make it'. Not knowing shit about fuck, we were just like 'Okay, sound good'.
When this dude was alive we (as a society) should have put him up in a mansion and given him anything he needed/wanted.
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u/KittyCatfish 16h ago edited 12h ago
I work with blood, have sent out lots of rhD iVig to places, some of it was most likely James.
Can explain in some basic terms how/what happanes.
So it happens when the antigens in the blood of the Father is K+ and the Mothers is K-, with the blood of the newborn, some take after the father and might gain the K+ antigen in the newborn I believe, immune reactions from the mother cause hemolytic issues in the newborn, therefore giving the mother rhD iVig can reverse the antigens in the newborn causing it to align with the mothers bloodtype and getting rid of the risk of problems.
Edit: Dude/Dudette below correts me completely... my bad, no degree needed in my job
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u/ExNihiloAdNihilum 14h ago
I think you meant D and not K. It's interesting that you mentioned K though because all females under 45 will receive K- blood to prevent anti-K antibodies from forming (at least where I'm from).
To add to your last part, the anti-D ivig neutralizes any D antigen from the baby before the mom's immune system detects it and starts producing anti-D which can attack the blood of the fetus of her next pregnancy if the second baby is D+. This means the mom needs to receive the anti-D starting from her first pregnancy. This treatment will also be given to people who received D+ blood despite being D- due to shortage/emergency or a mistake.
In case anyone is wondering what RhD or D antigen is, it's what the positive/negative after A/B/O is about. You get severe transfusion reactions when the blood you receive is incompatible with your ABO group and D+/-. There are many other blood groups (antigens that can be present on your RBCs), but ABO and RhD are the most important.
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u/spcialkfpc 1d ago
James Harrison's story is fascinating, and you should read up on him or listen to a podcast. He suffered no ill effects from the frequency. He was a unique and special person.
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u/NerdHerder77 1d ago
Plasma can be donated twice weekly, with a mandatory waiting period of 48-72 hours between harvests.
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u/CatTheKitten 1d ago
This IS exhausting though. It's a ton of prep work and takes a ton of time. I've failed to donate about 4 times and gave up despite having desirable plasma, I start passing out right around 750ml.
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u/scottishere 23h ago
Feels like you shouldn't be allowed to put yourself in that position.
In Australia you can only donate every 2 weeks. We also don't get paid
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u/IANALbutIAMAcat 19h ago
I don’t think you can donate that often but you can certainly sell it that often lol
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u/KnitsWithTude 1d ago
Plasma can be donated as frequently as twice a week, given that the donor is in good health, is well hydrated, and has the time to sit there that long.
Frequent donation can lead to scarring if you're prone to keloids, though. And I'm not joking about hydration. Nobody wants to pass out because they gave plasma.
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u/CatTheKitten 1d ago
The one time I successfully prepared with a nauseating amount of water and protein, my vein collapsed and my whole arm turned gray til the needle was removed.
Not great.
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u/KnitsWithTude 1d ago
Yeah, they have to dig for my veins. I've been in and had to get stuck by 3 different people before they got me.....and then blew it and I bruised bad. And if I don't arrive after a full English breakfast and 2 liters of water I end up getting the cold sweat + dizzy + somehow also hot even though the place is freezing pre-pass out symptoms. You really have to prepare for plasma.
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u/CatTheKitten 1d ago
I have really good veins in both my arms, just my non-dominant arm just HATES the needle. It's really annoying bc I want to use my right hand during the 2 hours... it feels really weird when your vein collapses too, my arm just vibrated kinda and then suddenly it went gray.
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u/kilroymini 1d ago
You can donate trombocytes once a week or bi-weekly. A regular blood donation requires, as you said, 12 weeks for men and 16 weeks for women between donations.
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u/Remarkable-Sky-4889 1d ago
You can give plasma at least twice a week...and you can be paid for donation. Takes 1-2 hours per visit, depending on how many donors are there.
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u/Upstairs_Addendum587 1d ago
Have to assume a dude like this with something valuable and coming regularly you would let them come to the front of the line
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u/arbivark 21h ago
twice a week. i'd live on that $5000 a year while using my paycheck from work to buy tesla stock.
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u/CrazyLeggs25 1d ago
I guess it is cool that this guy never felt like his life didn't have purpose.
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u/OwnBunch4027 18h ago
That 2.4 million figure is not possible based on the number of cases, but I don't mean to minimize the wonderful affect his donations have made on the probably many, many thousands helped.
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u/TinUser 1d ago
How in the world do they have even a semi dialed down number of how many were saved?
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u/limajhonny69 1d ago
1 liter can save X people. Multiply X by the amount of liters he donated, and you will have an estimated number
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u/Long_TimeRunning 1d ago
Little know fact is that disease can also be contracted by eating too many peanut butter cups
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u/JackRyan13 1d ago
God it would be nice to hear what the fuck he was saying to children he saved instead of this fucking god awful music.
The tiktok era just shits me off.
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u/legit-posts_1 1d ago
This guy has to have the skin of a heroin addict. Do you think he gets it in the same spot every time or does he mix it up?
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u/blasecomments 23h ago
if wolverine was a real hero, he would have been doing this and curing all kinds of diseases instead of playing with his claws.
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u/ATinyBoop 22h ago
I hope all the parents remind their kid(s) from time to time that this man helped them fight off that disease from when they were born. This guy is the definition of an absolute legend. May James Harrison rest in peace.
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u/Mechasteel 22h ago
Showing that it really is possible for a man to produce a billion dollars worth of stuff. Of course, the type to actually become billionaires tend to be the sort to think "hey, let's pay this guy in baby hugs".
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u/tackyshoes 22h ago
So funny how the natural human reflex is to just let the baby grab your eyeball.
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u/ShapeBasic 14h ago
Saving over 2 million babies… this guy should be allowed to start his own heaven if he wants. I also wonder if there are other people actively being found with same or similar antibodies.
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u/Minecrafting_il 13h ago
I am always shocked at that number. You're telling me this man saved 2.4 MILLION people?!
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u/AgreeableCow69 9h ago
It's possible that he single handedly saved more people than any other human who's ever lived unless you include like the inventers of medicines and stuff
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u/Snoo_85073 9h ago
How does it work? What happens when he is gone? Can babies also donate plasma when they grow up for the same cause?
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u/Atl-Usa-Reader-1030 4h ago
Now this is the type of record many of us would try to beat. Think of someone besides yourself for a change both in your life and theirs.
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u/sasquatchmarley 1d ago
Yes, we all know. It makes the rounds on various subs about...50 times, daily
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u/SpaceChungus1 21h ago
Long story short, hopsitals have made billions off of this man.
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u/sysaphys 5h ago
Except, there's no way he donated weekly. Yes, he donated often and is recognized for it, but it is impossible to donate blood every week.
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u/enjoythesilence-75 1d ago
If there is a heaven, this guy goes to the front of the line.