Louisiana Notches a Sickle Cell First

A 23-year-old from suburban New Orleans may have just opened a new chapter in how Louisiana treats one of its most persistent health problems. The Guardian reports that Daniel Cressy of Metairie is the first person in the Gulf Coast region to be "functionally cured" of sickle cell disease using gene-editing therapy. Cressy underwent a two-year process at Manning Family Children's Hospital in New Orleans that relied on Casgevy's CRISPR/Cas9 technology: Doctors collected his cells, sent them to Scotland to be genetically altered, wiped out his sickle cells with chemotherapy, then infused the modified cells back into his body.

On Monday, after a month of inpatient recovery, he rang the hospital's ceremonial bell and was declared functionally cured. It's potentially a big deal for Louisiana, the state with the nation's highest sickle cell rate per capita. It's also a big deal for Cressy, who dreamed of becoming a commercial pilot—a job the FAA wouldn't consider him for while he had the inherited blood disorder, which WDSU reports is the world's most common genetic blood disorder.

A press release from the hospital explains that Cressy appealed to the FAA in 2023 to request reconsideration. "The answer came back [that] if I could cure my sickle cell disease either through a bone marrow transplant or through gene therapy, then I could become a pilot." Now that he has done so, he's focused on flying, a planned book, and a new aviation-focused nonprofit. For more on his treatment and what it could mean for others, read the full piece.