A 19-year-old man with a rare immune disorder died after he stopped receiving life-saving hospital treatment, believing he was no longer in need of it, his sister has stated. Kieron Cameron, who lived with hypogammaglobulinemia, a condition that leaves the body with dangerously low levels of antibodies to fight infection, died earlier this month from pneumonia and sepsis.

His sister, Billie Cameron, 22, told the Daily Mail that Kieron had been told last year he was fit enough to work. She believes he misinterpreted this as no longer needing his regular antibody transfusions, which he received every three weeks at the Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh. She discovered he had not attended appointments for a year only when he was admitted to the hospital in critical condition.

"He hadn't been receiving any of his treatment for a year," Billie said. "So, when he did get really unwell, there was really not any way to help him."

Kieron was initially admitted to a local hospital with pneumonia and sepsis before being transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for specialist care. Doctors placed him in an induced coma, used extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for life support, and he required dialysis due to kidney failure. His liver also began to fail, and despite medical efforts, he could not be saved.

Hypogammaglobulinemia can make individuals highly vulnerable to infections. Kieron was at risk from birth, with doctors having previously warned his family he might not reach his teenage years. His older brother died at age two from pneumonia, a condition Kieron himself had as a baby.

Despite his lifelong health challenges, Kieron was described by his sister as a positive and reliable person who dreamed of becoming a vet. He was a fan of football teams Raith Rovers and Rangers and loved animals. The siblings shared a strong bond, forged through childhood hardships, including the death of their mother in 2017, after which they were placed in foster care.

Billie is now organizing Kieron's funeral and has launched a GoFundMe to help with the costs. "It's obviously really hard for us because we're only 21 and 22. We don't really know what to do in these situations. We just want to give him the send-off he deserves," she said.