For Jimi Olaghere, sickle cell disease once meant a life of limitations, sudden and intense pain, and frequent hospitalizations. Jimi was consumed by severe health complications caused by sickle cell disease, including acute chest syndrome, pneumonia, avascular necrosis and lung damage. Once, he suffered cardiac arrest due to not receiving a preventative blood transfusion before minor surgery. “Sickle cell was like a dream killer for me,” Jimi said. Hope appeared in 2019 in the form of a news article detailing how gene therapy could boost the production of healthy red blood cells in patients with sickle cell disease, potentially reducing these excruciating symptoms. Inspired to have a better quality of life, Jimi signed up to participate in a CRISPR gene-editing clinical trial. Before treatment, he received bi-weekly red blood cell exchanges — a non-surgical procedure that replaces abnormal red blood cells with healthy ones from blood donors — to keep him healthy during the trial. ...