₦airaland Forum

The Immense Contribution of James Christopher Harrison Towards Understanding How The Rhesus Blood Group System Affects Pregnancies.

Let me tell you the story if this man who obviously has golden blood. But before that, let me explain what made his blood golden.

If you check your blood group, you're either you're A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, O+ or O-. If you have + on your own (A+, B+, AB+, O+), it means you have a protein called Rhesus factor (Rh) on the surface of your red blood cells. So, you're refered to as Rh positive. If yours is negative (A-, B-, AB-, O-), it means you don't have the Rhesus factor. So, you're Rh negative.

When an Rh positive man impregnates an Rh negative woman, her body rexognises the Rh+ antigen as foreign and then produces antibodies to counter it. Let me digress a bit and explain what antigen and antibody mean.

An antigen is a substance that enters the body and triggers an immune response. They are recognised by the immune system as "non-self" or harmful, triggering an immune response.

An antibody, also known as an immunoglobulin, is a protein produced by the immune system in response to an antigen. Antibodies act as a "marker" to identify and target the antigen for destruction by other immune cells. They're like the agents government send to mark an illegal building (antigen) for demolition. In their case however, no politicking is allowed. Once the building is marked, demolition ensues.

Let's continue. When a woman's body has been previously sensitized to the Rh antigen, the next child might be in trouble. This happens when the father of the previous pregnancy is Rh+, leading to the conception of an Rh+ positive baby.

During the first pregnancy, the Rh-negative woman's immune system may not react immediately, but her body may remember the Rh antigen and produce antibodies if she is exposed to it again in a future pregnancy. This is called sensitization.

If she becomes pregnant again with an Rh-positive baby, her immune system may launch an immune response, producing antibodies that can attack the baby's red blood cells. This has partly led to the death of many children in the past. Some of the babies we call "àbíkú" were under this category.

For this problem not to happen, women who are Rh- are advised to receive a medication known as Rh immune globulin (RhIg) during pregnancy and after delivery to prevent sensitization and potential complications in future pregnancies.

How did the man in the picture come into the picture? Let's continue That's where the man in the picture came in. His name is James Christopher Harrison. He has reportedly been making blood donations every week for the past 60 years and has helped saved the lives if 2.4 million babies.

Harrison had a chest surgery when he was 14 and needed blood. Seeing that the blood donated by others saved his life, Harrison decided to start donating blood himself. A few years later, doctors discovered his blood contained the antibody which could be used to create Anti-D injections and that was the beginning.

You might be wondering about what an Anti-D injection is. Remember that I mentioned RhIg in part 2/3? Anti-D injection and RhIg are related but not exactly the same thing.

Anti-D injection, also known as anti-D immunoglobulin, is a specific type of RhIg. It contains antibodies against the D antigen, which is a part of the Rh antigen complex. In other words, anti-D injection is a specific type of RhIg that targets the D antigen, which is the most important antigen in the Rh complex. In a nutshell, all Anti-D are RhIg but not all RhIg are anti-D.

Back to Harrison, he started making blood plasma donations to help as many people as possible. Doctors aren't 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 surgery. Anyways, people who have that type of blood are so rare that there are not up to 50 in the whole of Australia.

Harrison retired in 2018 when he clocked 81 as Australia policy prohibit donation of blood by people who are above 81. He made 1,173 donations in total. Harrison's selfless acts have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Medal of the Order of Australia and the title of Australian Hero of the Year.

Tainkyu ✌🏾

@arojinle1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clhjyPsZY3U?si=sHfTpT-KJrpww_o5
This man's blood saved over 2 million babies. James Harrison, known as the "Man with the Golden Arm," is retiring after giving blood every week for the last 60 years.

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/05/17/james-harrison-blood-donor-retires-sg-orig.cnn

Great selfless contribution to health knowledge and education by James Christopher Harrison for the betterment and survival of humanity.

Everyone must be well informed by this information and all the Myths of "witches" or "evil forces" eating up Pregnancies especially in superstitious Africa must be discarded. This ignorance must be expunge.

The baseline explanation for the Rhesus incompatibility always leading to miscarriages in Rhesus mis-matched couples.

Onabeem:
You just steal someone's post from x like that

Racoon:
The Immense Contribution of James Christopher Harrison Towards Understanding How The Rhesus Blood Group System Affects Pregnancies. @arojinle1

It was not "stolen" sir. The source of the tweet ( @arojinle ) was duly acknowledged and appreciated for contributing to public discuss as highlighted. Be guided please. Thanks.

But then, how about the people with ordinary A Blood Group type and Rh Type Positive, Genotype AA? No + nor -

I did not read the article, but I think Mr Harrison has well. Heaven will reward him

You just steal someone's post from x like that

Erythroblastosis fetalis.

Just imagine some many women who were banished because they felt na witch dey chop the pikin

Our grand papa dem wey nack wetin no good. This one wasnt their concern

Inconclusive article

I didn't read the post but I believe PitObi cannot be president of Nigeria untill 3030

Silence everywhere because it's not politics in the jungle. Rhesus factor is an important part of marriage,so we reduce the number of mortality in Nigeria since we haven't found our Anti-D either.

People need food now,not treatment for something

COMRADES, thanks for the info

More complications

phintohlar:
But then, how about the people with ordinary A Blood Group type and Rh Type Positive, Genotype AA? No + nor -

Genotype and blood group is not the same thing.
Rh factor is associated with blood groups, and not blood genotype.

I did not read.

Health is a complex studies

Some women may not even take in again after the first child, that's the reason RH factor is very necessary especially for the women.

How come our fathers who were born when this wasn't public knowledge survived without all this antigen this and that bullcrap, cuz I even heard my grand father was born at home without the aid of a hospital or some educated midwife, no ante natal he survived, make una tune down this una sturv, it's causing panic and confusion, now I'm so scared of having a child.

Kingrshd3:
I didn't read the post but I believe PitObi cannot be president of Nigeria untill 3030

Your wayward father that gave birth to you will,can never attain 1/4 of what Mr Obi has attained in life.Your papa is in a very remote creek tapping all manner of palm tree at his disposal.Pit your entire generation both present and future cos none of you will ever come close to his achievement. never!!!

phintohlar:
But then, how about the people with ordinary A Blood Group type and Rh Type Positive, Genotype AA? No + nor -

Blood groups are A, B, AB, and O

Rhesus factor is either negative or positive.

Genotypes are AA, AS, SS, AC, SC, and CC

What you're talking about is genotype which is different from blood group and rhesus factor.

H

Amanda, it's over.

Great man

Kingrshd3:
I didn't read the post but I believe PitObi cannot be president of Nigeria untill 3030

Keep believing, no go find work

Informative

Educative! Thanks for sharing.

Once again knowledge has proven itself again as power.

Hardwork and knowledge is all it takes to solve problems not prayers, fasting and faith.

I hope that one day Nigerians will invest their time into Hardwork and knowledge instead of religion. Then we will start to see the prosperity we all yearn for.

When an Rh positive man impregnates an Rh negative woman, her body rexognises the Rh+ antigen as foreign and then produces antibodies to counter it. Let me digress a bit and explain what antigen and antibody mean.

What if the reverse is the case that is an Rh- negative man and a Rh+ positive woman?

dauntless15:
How come our fathers who were born when this wasn't public knowledge survived without all this antigen this and that bullcrap, cuz I even heard my grand father was born at home without the aid of a hospital or some educated midwife, no ante natal he survived, make una tune down this una sturv, it's causing panic and confusion, now I'm so scared of having a child.

Stupidity seems to be flowing in your DNA.
Did you read it anywhere in the post that it is affecting everyone?
Please get a brain.

Very educative