Second Czech child set to undergo gene therapy abroad

A second child from Czechia is set to undergo gene therapy, iRozhlas.cz reported on Monday. The case of two-year-old Martin made headlines a few months ago when he was flown to France for gene therapy treatment for a rare hereditary disorder. Now another young Czech, 15-year-old Michaela Hlaváčková from Pardubice, who also suffers from AADC deficiency, the same ultra-rare inherited disease as Martin, is heading to San Francisco in the US this month to receive the treatment. Unlike Martin, whose parents had to fundraise 6 million euros for Martin’s procedure in France, Michaela will get the treatment free as it is for an experimental study.