FREY

After a 40 year long battle with Sickle Cell Disease, Jeffrey C. Woodson II, has now been given a new lease on life.

After a years-long journey of extensive testing and treatment to prepare for the clinical trial, Woodson has begun his first year “Sickle Cell Free.” Under the direction of Dr. John Depersio, a legendary team of medical professionals at Barnes Jewish Hospital, and Siteman Cancer Center have made history.

While an FDA approved cure for Sickle Cell Disease has been available since 2023, little has been done to make it accessible to patients due to it’s hefty price tag and dicey insurance coverage possibilities.

As a result, Depersio and his team began clinical trials of alternative treatment methods to gain FDA approval. The hope is to have enough alternatives to potentially lower the cost of treatment and increase the availablity to eligible Sickle Cell patients.

Woodson is the second candidate to succefully have the Sickle Cell gene eliminated completely from his DNA. While the FDA approved cure and other treatments modify the patients gene’s from producing sickled red blood cells, and increase the amount of non-sickled cells, Depersio’s method of gene edited goes to the root of the DNA sequence and removes the mutation at the source.

With this method, individuals suffering from this disease can not only be cured, but also eliminate the chance of passing it on to future generations, essentially eradicating it from existence over the next few decades.