TIGARD, Ore. – A Tigard family is hoping strangers will reach out to help their little boy who’s in need of a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

kgw.com

Three-year-old Liam McNassar in a photo from his family.

Three-year-old Liam McNassar was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia last May. And while there is a massive database of 11 million bone marrow donors across the country, amazingly, none of them match Liam’s DNA. Making matters even more dire, Liam has a rare chromosomal disorder which limits the success of chemotherapy treatment alone.

The toddler’s aunt, Michelle Boss Barba, of Portland, said doctors told the family that if Liam can get a transplant by early September, it will increase his chance of surviving by about 70 percent.

They don’t even want to think about what could happen if they can’t find a match for him.

Slideshow: Photos of Liam & his family

“He already lives in a virtual bubble at home,” Michelle said. “He is very creative and inventive so when he’s not getting poked and prodded, he’s still really playful and enthusiastic. But it’s definitely draining on him.”

Liam loves goofing around with his two-year-old sister, Sophia, going hunting for bugs outdoors, and fighting imaginary dragons, just like any other little boy his age. But he also knows more medical terms than most adults and he struggles when he has to get treatment.

“Chemotherapy has been very hard on him… He’s definitely been up and down and he’s eating more now. He’s usually a really fun little kid,” Michelle said.

Lisette and Brendan McNassar are hoping news coverage about their young son's plight will prompt people to get tested and then added to the National Bone Marrow Registry, increasing the chance that doctors will find a donor for Liam.

 More: Read family blog about Liam McNassar

If a match is found, the McNassars said donoting marrow is as easy as donating blood, it just takes a while longer. "In the past, marrow was harvested through the bone, however now they can do it through blood, so it’s kind of like donating platelets... It's easy, but it takes three to six hours," Michelle explained.

In case they fail to find a match in a couple months, Lisette and Brendan were also considering umbilical cord blood as a possible backup.

Liam was diagnosed with leukemia back on May 9 after losing his appetite and suffering from several unexplained fevers at night. Originally, doctors thought Liam had a simple viral infection, but when it failed to clear up, they did blood tests which showed he had leukemia.

“He’s very prone to infections now,” Michelle said. “We’re trying to make it as fun at home as possible.”

Little Liam will turn four on August 27th but his family can’t provide the gift he needs more than anything; it's up a total stranger to give him that.