Arlington Heights Family Seek Bone Marrow Match

Seven-year-old Patton Elementary first-grader, Connor Lim, was diagnosed in May of 2009 with X-linked Hyper IGM, a rare immunodeficiency that causes patients to succumb to liver cirrhosis or lung infection at an early age. Basically his body does not produce any IgG immunoglobin and cannot fight off infection. This disease is so rare that there are less than 300 people living with this disease.

For treatment Connor receives infusions of Ivig, a monthly hindrance that he needs to appear as a healthy first-grader. However it has been determined that the only definitive cure is a bone marrow transplant. This is why family and friends of Connor along with Be The Match has setup a Marrow Registry drive at the Just Move It 5K at South Middle School, 400 South Highland Ave, Arlington Heights from 7-11 a.m on Saturday, April 21.

“Connor along with over 10,000 patients in the US is currently looking for a match for their life saving transplant,” said Sam Tan, Account Executive with Be The Match, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program in a news release. “A simple cheek swab and a consent form is all it takes to be added to the registry. Out of all those patients 70% of them are not able to find a match among blood relatives, thus building the registry is critical.”

Stephanie Park of Arlington Heights and Connor’s Mother said, “(Connor) loves living in Arlington Heights and would love to be a normal boy…his goal is to be able to dive off the high diving board in the public pool.”

This is a medical restriction for Connor due to a risk of infection.

Of the over 9 million people currently on the registry, a perfect match for Connor has yet to be found. If a match is made, bone marrow donation is much easier today, because 75 percent of the time physicians request Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donations, for which the marrow extraction is a blood draw over several days. PBSC donors are typically back to their normal routine within a day or two. The other 25 percent of the time a marrow collection is involved, which is an outpatient procedure where the marrow cells are collected from the hip while the donor is under general anesthesia.

While it is free to join the Be The Match Registry, each swab must be typed, processed and stored in the Registry. It costs $100 per swab/person for testing and storage according to Be The Match. That is why Be The Match is asking for donations to help offset those costs during the drive.

For more information on the registry drive for Connor email stan@nmdp.org or call Sam Tan at 312-965-4190 or toll free at 1-800-526-7809 ext 8679.

-Submitted by Be the Match