Chinese university investigating girl's death in gene-editing trial
Shanghai Jiao Tong University is investigating the death of a six-year-old girl who participated in an undisclosed gene-editing trial. The lead researcher allegedly published related animal study results without mentioning the human fatality.
Why it matters
Raises critical ethical concerns regarding medical research transparency, patient safety, and the integrity of gene-editing trials.
The experimental gene therapy was meant to fix a rare genetic condition that caused a delay in cognitive development.
The Bund Shanghai skyline taken on Apr 7, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Tan Wen Lin)
BEIJING: A Chinese university is looking into reports that a gene-editing trial caused the death of a six-year-old girl, which was not disclosed in the published research, the school said on Sunday (Jul 26).
The girl, given the pseudonym "Mei", died last year around a week after receiving a spinal infusion of trillions of viruses designed to penetrate the brain for treatment, according to a joint investigation by Science and Retraction Watch.
The experimental gene therapy was meant to fix a rare genetic condition that caused a delay in cognitive development, the report said on Thursday.
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