Teen's life transformed by gene editing
A 16-year-old girl with thalassemia has seen her health transformed by a pioneering gene-editing treatment. The procedure allows her to produce healthy blood cells, eliminating the need for regular transfusions.
Why it matters
This highlights the life-changing potential of gene-editing therapies for patients with chronic blood disorders.
Image caption, Vian hopes to become a nurse, having spent most of her life surrounded by medical staff
A teenager has revealed how her life has been transformed thanks to pioneering gene editing, which reversed symptoms of a crippling blood disorder.
Vian, 16, was born with thalassemia, a condition that affects haemoglobin - used by red blood cells to transport oxygen around the body. It left her short of breath and with no appetite.
Her own stem cells were edited and she no longer needs the monthly blood transfusions she endured for most of her life.
"My whole life's different now. It's changed so much," she said.
The treatment, for patients with thalassaemia or sickle cell disease, is offered to young people at three children's hospitals in the country.
Vian, from Coventry, was one of the first to have it.
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