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Although the word martyr somewhat applies, it includes a nobility not necessarily present.

An idiom describing this, in a voluntary situation, would be drawing the short straw, thereby acquiring some unpleasant or dangerous duty. An idiom for an involuntary situation would be getting thrown under the bus.

Context

Friend: I knew someone would eventually need to refactor this code. I didn't think it would be me.

Me: You're our... uh, what's the word?

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    I think one who gets sacrificed is just a sacrifice. I like sacrificial lamb, but it's an idiom and has religious connotations.
    – Michael Plotke
    Oct 28, 2015 at 18:36
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    I think we need more context. It makes a difference whether the person being sacrificed is willing, for example (whipping boys rarely are), and whether they were "correctly" selected (not usually the implication with a scapegoat).
    – FumbleFingers
    Oct 28, 2015 at 18:46
  • Context added, though I don't know how helpful it is. Willingness is only tangentially applicable in that it's others who give them the status. Afterward they might acquiesce or resist. Assume a reason for the selection, though not a particularly great one.
    – Michael Plotke
    Oct 28, 2015 at 19:00

3 Answers 3

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patsy:

  1. a person who is easily cheated, victimized, etc
  2. a scapegoat

cannon fodder:

men regarded as expendable because they are part of a huge army

pawn:

a person, group, etc, manipulated by another

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Consider, lifesaver.

: one that provides help in a crisis or emergency. American Heritage® Dictionary

Friend: I knew someone would eventually need to refactor this code. I didn't think it would be me.

Me: You're our lifesaver

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You could consider saviour as in "you are our saviour" although depending on tone and context it can also be used to imply someone who is making too much of a task that they are undertaking, possibly, to save others from an unpleasant task.

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