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Deaf baby hears for the first time after ‘groundbreaking’ gene therapy trial

Opal Sandy, an 18-month-old from England, is the youngest child to come close to “normal hearing levels” in a gene therapy trial to aid her genetic deafness.

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May 9, 2024 at 1:22 p.m. EDT
Opal Sandy was born completely deaf because of a rare genetic condition and can now hear unaided after receiving gene therapy. (Andrew Matthews/AP)
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LONDON — A baby girl born with profound genetic deafness can now hear unaided after receiving a “groundbreaking” gene therapy trial, Britain’s National Health Service said Thursday.

Opal Sandy, an 18-month-old from Oxfordshire, England, is the first patient treated in a global gene therapy trial that is showing “mind-blowing” results, Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge said in a statement. Opal is “the first British patient in the world and the youngest child to receive this type of treatment,” the hospital said.