“At just 12 years old, Kendric Cromer is making medical history by becoming the first person with sickle cell disease to undergo commercially licensed gene therapy, a groundbreaking treatment approved to potentially cure the condition.
This milestone comes swiftly after the Food and Drug Administration greenlit two companies to offer gene therapy for individuals grappling with this genetic blood disorder, known for causing severe pain, inflammation, infections, and other health complications.
“Sickle cell always steals my dreams and interrupts all the things I want to do,” Cromer, receiving treatment at Washington, D.C.’s Children’s National Hospital, expressed to The New York Times. With hopes pinned on gene therapy, which has shown success in clinical trials, the aim is to transform not just his life but also the lives of around 20,000 qualifying individuals with the illness across the U.S.
Cromer, meeting the criteria due to the severity of his illness and insurance coverage, is already envisioning a life free from sickle cell — the dedicated A student aspires to hit the basketball court and eventually pursue a career as a geneticist. “I want to be cured,” he earnestly shared. Learn more about his remarkable medical journey.“
