By age 15, Phillip Mullin of Alexandria, Louisiana, had been hospitalized more than 100 times. On October 23, 2026, he marked a different kind of hospital visit. At a bell-ringing ceremony in New Orleans, Manning Family Children’s celebrated him as the first child in Louisiana to be considered functionally cured of sickle cell disease through gene therapy. Hospital announcement via NOLA Newswire
A treatment using his own cells
Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder. Red blood cells can become rigid and sickle-shaped, blocking blood flow and causing severe pain. Mullin received Lyfgenia, a gene therapy that modifies a patient’s own blood stem cells so they can produce a form of hemoglobin that helps red blood cells resist sickling. FDA approval announcement
The hospital used the term “functionally cured” to describe Mullin’s outcome after treatment. The FDA requires long-term monitoring for patients who receive Lyfgenia because of a risk of blood cancer. FDA approval announcement
A celebration shaped around Phillip
The hospital made room for something personal at the ceremony. It unveiled a custom LEGO display in honor of Mullin’s love of building with the bricks. After years of admissions for painful complications, his family and care team gathered to celebrate a milestone in his recovery. Hospital announcement via NOLA Newswire