Arlington Heights Family Seek Bone Marrow Match

A local Arlington Heights family needs our help. 7-year-old Connor Lim, who is in 1st grade at Patton, was diagnosed in 2009 with a rare immunodeficiency disorder called x-linked Hyper IGM.  This syndrome causes the body to not produce any Ivig immunoglobin and cannot fight off infection. Connor must receive infusions of Ivig each month, but a cure can be found with a bone marrow transplant.

The 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, Heights from 7-11 a.m on Saturday, April 21. To be added to the registry only requires a cheek swab and a consent form.

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 [email protected] or call Sam Tan at 312-965-4190 or toll free at 1-800-526-7809 ext 8679.

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