Boy with rare disease wishes for bone marrow match for his 5th birthday

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    AUBURN, MA ( WCVB) — In many ways, Bryce Linton, of Auburn, is your average 4-year-old – adventurous, a little mischievous and loves being around his big brother.

Bryce was diagnosed in November with Hyper-IgM, an incredibly rare, one in a million disease that affects his immune system.

“We had to adjust some things, but everybody right now during COVID is doing exactly the same thing — washing your hands, making sure everything is clean. He can’t go into certain types of water. He actually can’t drink certain types of water,” said Bryce’s mother, Julie Creedon-Linton.

Bryce now receives medical treatment every other week, which has helped, but ultimately he’ll need a bone marrow transplant.

“If he doesn’t get a bone marrow transplant or if the gene cells editing doesn’t transpire, he will just be faced with a severely shortened life span,” said Bryce’s father, Michael Linton.

Bryce turns 5 Saturday. His family is asking everyone to consider becoming a bone marrow donor.

“It’s just a young kid’s disease that doesn’t help them,” Julie Creedon-Linton said. “The more he gets sick the more his organs break down. We want him to live a full life.”

Doctors said the most likely match for Bryce is going to be a man between the ages of 18-44.

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