New Jersey teen pain-free thanks to new sickle cell disease treatment
For the first time in his life, a young New Jersey man is pain-free thanks to a new gene treatment working to cure patients of sickle cell disease.
Gerald Quartey, 18, is the first patient in the Garden State to be treated with the groundbreaking Lyfgenia treatment outside of a clinical trial and following FDA approval in 2023 for patients 12 and older.
"We are essentially curing patients of their disease"
Dr. Stacey Rifkin-Zenenberg, at Hackensack Meridian Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital, explains doctors collect a patient's blood stem cells, which are then genetically modified in a lab.
The patient undergoes intense chemotherapy before the modified cells are infused back in the body to produce new, healthy red blood cells.
"The gene therapy treatment is a treatment where we are essentially curing patients of their disease," Rifkin-Zenenberg said.
The treatment is covered by insurance.
While it's FDA approved for children 12 and older, younger children are being treated with gene therapy through a clinical trial at the hospital and around the country.
"Most of the time, I would just be inside because I was in pain"
All his life, Gerald Quartey has suffered from the debilitating side effects of the rare and life-threatening inherited blood disorder. He needed frequent medical care and couldn't play sports. Even the cold triggered painful episodes.
"It was really rough. I missed a lot school, a lot of things that just, like, normal kids would be doing," he said. "Most of the time, I would just be inside because I was in pain."
It's also been incredibly painful for his mother, Evelyn Quartey, who lost her oldest son, Emmanuel, to sickle cell when he was 7.
"It's been rough," she said. "And there was no treatment at that time."
Gerald completed his treatment at the hospital, ringing a bell and celebrating with the medical staff.
"Just to endure just a few weeks of pain for a lifetime free of pain is, it's definitely worth it," Gerald said.
"So happy and so thankful that he's sickle cell-free," Evelyn Quartey said.
"It just felt really great to know that that chapter of my life is over," Gerald said.
Now pain-free, Gerald plans to head to Penn State to study nursing and psychiatry, hoping to help others, inspired by those who helped him.
