Advancements in medical treatment have just reached new heights! On June 22, Daniel Cressy was recognized for being functionally cured of sickle cell disease through gene therapy, according to the Guardian. He became the first in Louisiana to be cured of the disease.
With tears coming down his face, he expressed gratitude for the process:
“God has given me another life, a new chapter,” Cressy stated. “I was able to experience a second birthday, something that most people will never experience.” The 23-year-old was diagnosed with sickle cell disease as an infant, but started treatment just 2 years ago.
The gene therapy treatment changes the gene that causes red blood cells to sickle, blocking blood flow. The first step in the process took place last July. Stem cells were extracted over three days and sent to a lab in Scotland. The lab would then edit Cressy’s cells to stop them from sickling. Step two was for Cressy to complete chemotherapy and receive the new edited genes.
He spent 5 weeks in recovery after chemotherapy. When his immune system became stable again, he was cleared to be back in public. Today, his hemoglobin is normal, and his cells no longer sickle. It’s the first time in his life that he isn’t sick or in pain.
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His doctor, Ben Watkins of the Manning Family Children’s facility, stated that Cressy’s success with treatment was the start of transforming more sickle cell patients in Louisiana. He also stressed the issue of neglect and lack of funding in research for sickle cell disease. “Despite its prevalence and severity, sickle cell disease has lived in the shadows.”
Sickle cell disease is a common blood disorder that affects the Black community disproportionately. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 90% of people in the United States with sickle cell disease identify as non-Hispanic Black or African American.
In Louisiana, 3,000 people live with sickle cell disease. The Manning Family Children’s facility is the only place in Louisiana where gene therapy is approved. It’s the place that gave Cressy a new look at life.
Currently, there are two forms of gene therapy treatments that are federally approved for sickle cell patients: Lyfgenia and Casgevy. Cressy is now among the more than 100 people in the United States to receive gene therapy.
With a new future ahead, he and Kyle Registre, a fellow gene therapy patient, founded the nonprofit Privileged Pilots. The nonprofit provides access to opportunity in aviation and care for people facing medical, economic and social barriers. Cressy once described his process with sickle cell as isolating, but he is hopeful that the nonprofit will help others break the loneliness he once experienced.
