21-year-old man becomes first in New York to be cured of sickle cell anemia

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21-year-old Sebastien Beauzile has become the first in New York to be cured of sickle cell anemia due to state of the art treatment.

“We feel blessed to be the first to be able to offer this,” said Dr. Jonathan Fish with the Cohen Children’s Medical Center to reporters.

Man cured of sickle cell anemia with groundbreaking treatment

For 21 years, Beauzile, of Long Island, N.Y., suffered chronic pain from debilitating sickle cell anemia.

“Sickle cell was like a blockade for me, but now it’s just like a wall that I just jumped over,” he said.

He is now making medical history in the state of New York.

According to ClevelandClinic.org, Sickle cell anemia is a genetic blood disorder that affects the shape of red blood cells. It is caused by a mutation in the hemoglobin gene, which produces the protein that carries oxygen in the blood.

Beauzille was treated at the Cohen Children’s Medical Center where doctors used groundbreaking lyfgenia treatment which used Beauzille’s own bone marrow in IV transfusions to create normal red blood cells.

The 21-year-old has been a patient at the hospital since he was two months old.

The patient’s plan for the future

During the press conference, Beauzile gave thanks to the medical teams who were a part of his life changing treatment.

“To the med four team, to the hematology team, the transplant team, you guys have really changed my life,” he said.

Beauzille will soon be able to travel, work out, and focus on his education. He said he plans to pursue a career in the medical field.

In the United States, sickle cell anemia most commonly affects people of African, Mediterranean or Middle Eastern descent.

Cohen Children’s Medical Center said they hope to target those communities with this life-altering therapy.