The First Baby Saved by Gene Editing — and What It Means for the Rest of Us
In February 2025, something remarkable happened: a baby named KJ became the first human to receive a personalized gene-editing treatment tailored to a single mutation in his DNA.
Using CRISPR, scientists didn’t just slow his disease — they corrected the typo that was killing him. Within weeks, he could eat normally, hit milestones, and possibly avoid the transplant once thought inevitable.
This essay explores how it happened, what it means for the future of medicine, and why this one-letter change may rewrite everything we know about treating rare diseases.
It’s not science fiction. It’s science — faster than anyone imagined
Here is an excerpt:
One of the most astonishing medical breakthroughs in history just happened.
Not in 2035.
Not on Mars.
Not in a movie.
But in Philadelphia. In February.
A baby named KJ, just six months old, became the first human to receive a personalized gene-editing treatment made just for him, designed to correct a single error in his DNA.
And it worked.
Scene One: Gattaca, Reversed
In the film Gattaca, the world belongs to the genetically engineered.
Everyone else is left behind — “invalids,” limited by nature and prejudice.
The story is a warning: what happens when we design perfection, but forget compassion?
But what happened in KJ’s hospital room isn’t eugenics.
It’s rescue.
A boy born with CPS1 deficiency, a deadly, rare condition that poisons the brain with ammonia, had no options.
Half of the children with it die in their first week.
Those who survive face brain damage, a future of feeding tubes, and a liver transplant — if they’re lucky.
So doctors did something that sounds like science fiction.
They built him a one-time treatment tailored to a single letter of his DNA.
They didn’t just treat his symptoms.
They edited his genetic code.
Sometimes, saving a life means rewriting the sentence written before birth.
Please use the free FRIEND LINK to my piece on Medium.com:
The First Baby Saved by Gene Editing by Michael Hunter, MD.
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