Teen Needs Bone Marrow Transplant, But Risks Are High

Corey Halliday looks like an ordinary 13-year-old.

But behind his cheeky grin is an extraordinary teenager, born with a one-in-a-million illness that threatens to cut him off from the world.

Corey is one of a handful of Australians diagnosed with Kostmann's Syndrome, a severe congenital disease that means his body cannot fight bacterial infection.

Paper cuts, colds and mosquito bites have all put Corey in hospital - he has been admitted about 80 times - because he does not produce the white blood cells needed to battle illness.