WILMINGTON, Del. -- A local baby is fighting the odds. He was born with the immune disorder known as the "bubble boy" disease, but he may not have to actually live his life in a bubble.

Doctors at Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., diagnosed Griffin Ritchie with severe combined immune deficiency syndrome two weeks ago. Only one in a million babies is born that way. The rare genetic disorder makes it impossible for Griffin to fight off ordinary infections, so every sniffle could be life-threatening.

"When they said immune deficiency, I honestly couldn't breathe. My head started swimming. All I could think was that no one can survive without an immune system. Fear, genuine fear sets in," said Susan Ritchie, Griffin's mother.

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Slideshow: Baby May Not Need Bubble

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Baby Is Fighting The Odds

But now, doctors at Duke University Medical Center are offering hope that Griffin can actually be cured and live a normal life. The boy is going to undergo a stem cell transplant. Without it, his outlook is bleak.

"He would probably die from some infection or he would need to live a life that was sort of isolated -- like the boy in a bubble -- on constant antimicrobial therapy," said Dr. George Datto, a pediatrician.

Doctors at Duke University Medical Center told NBC 10's HealthWatch that the 6-month-old boy has a better than 75 percent chance of a cure.