First gene therapy in Louisiana cures patient of sickle cell, helping achieve lifelong goal
Manning Family Children's Hospital
Louisiana
Patient Daniel Cressy. Courtesy of Manning Family Children's Hospital
LCMC Health’s Manning Family Children’s Hospital in New Orleans became Louisiana’s first to use curative gene therapy in the treatment of sickle cell disease. Diagnosed as an infant, 23-year-old Daniel Cressy endured years of severe pain and hospitalizations before undergoing treatment with Casgevy CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing therapy, which modifies a patient’s stem cells to prevent the sickling of red blood cells — a process where abnormal hemoglobin S (HbS) proteins lose oxygen, stick together into stiff rods and distort flexible round blood cells into rigid, crescent-shaped sickle cells. Three months after receiving his genetically modified cells, Cressy’s hemoglobin levels reached the highest point of his life — putting him on a path toward achieving his lifelong dream of becoming a commercial pilot.
“Curative gene therapy is restoring futures, and Daniel has paved the way for what is possible together with his care team at Manning Family Children’s. This is a proud and transformational moment for all of us,” said Lucio A. Fragoso, president and CEO of Manning Family Children’s.
“Overcoming what seemed impossible became my greatest blessing. While many spend their lives searching for purpose, mine found me. Now, instead of looking for meaning, I can spend my life fulfilling it,” said Cressy. The achievement highlights the hospital’s growing leadership in advanced cellular therapies and offers renewed hope to patients across Louisiana, which has one of the nation’s highest rates of sickle cell disease.