We’re just hoping they collect enough cells so the process can move forward quickly.”

Until now, the only long-term treatment for sickle cell disease has been a bone marrow transplant, which requires a close genetic match—something not all patients have. This new therapy offers an alternative for many who have had few options.

Manning Family Children’s is currently the only hospital in the entire state of Louisiana offering both bone marrow transplants and gene therapy treatments for children and young adults in their late teens and early 20s.