A 21-year-old Long Island man has become the first person in New York history to be cured of sickle cell anemia, thanks to a groundbreaking gene therapy. Treated at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, Sebastien Beauzile underwent a state-of-the-art procedure using his own stem cells to produce healthy red blood cells. The therapy, called Lyfgenia, marks a major step forward in the fight against a disease that has affected him since infancy.
Doctors say the success of the treatment is a milestone over a century in the making. Sickle cell anemia, which disproportionately affects people of African, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern descent, has long been considered incurable. With his pain gone, Beauzile says he now feels “unstoppable” and is looking forward to traveling, exercising, and pursuing a future in healthcare. His story is already inspiring action—civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump recently donated $100,000 to expand treatment access.