Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

GETTING chickenpox will be the best thing that’s ever happened to brave eight-year-old Matthew McCabe.

Matthew needs a kidney transplant and his gran Liz is a donor match.

But his doctors at Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow are reluctant to do the op until he’s had chickenpox, because the illness can be deadly to children who have had transplants.

So Liz and Matthew’s mum Emma are searching for a family with a child with chickenpox, so they can meet up and try to get him infected.

Liz, of Rothesay on Bute, put a post on Facebook asking for help, and it was shared more than 4500 times in less than 24 hours.

She said: “It’s unbelievable how quickly the message has spread. We’re just so thankful.

“I’d do anything for my grandson and I was over the moon when I found out I was a perfect match.

“It’s just a shame we need to get over another hurdle of having him catch chickenpox.

“Hopefully we can find someone with a child close by, as it’s not a great idea for Matthew to travel very far.”

Matthew, also of Rothesay, was born with a condition which means his bladder doesn’t empty properly.

The condition affects his kidney function and he had to go on dialysis earlier this year.

Matthew has to travel to Glasgow with his family three times a week to be hooked up to a kidney machine. He has a line in his neck and can’t play outside in case it’s knocked out.

He also has to take seven kinds of medication five times a day, and has to empty a waste bag for his urine every 25 minutes.

A new kidney would transform his life, and the lives of his mum, sister Ava, five, and brother Luca, two.

(Image: The Central Scotland News Agency)

Emma said: “Despite everything he’s gone through, Matthew is a great boy.

“He’s a really sensible old soul. He knows he has to be careful.

“But he has his moments when he comes to me and says, ‘Why do I have to have a bag on me and no one else does?’

“We were so happy when we found out my mum is a donor match.

“But the doctors at Yorkhill were concerned he’d never had chickenpox. They can’t be seen to recommend that a child catches it, but they said it would be best if he did.

“We’re looking for parents who have kids with chickenpox and would be willing to meet us.”

Liz needs more tests before the transplant can go ahead, which may take as long

as a year.

But once Matthew has had chickenpox, he can go on the donor list, which could help him get a kidney sooner.

Can you help Matthew? Call the Record on 0141 309 3251