3-Year-Old Boy with Rare Condition Becomes World's First Gene Therapy Patient

NEED TO KNOW

Oliver Chu, 3, was born with a rare genetic condition called Hunter syndrome that impacts physical and mental development

He traveled to the U.K. to become the first person to undergo a groundbreaking stem cell gene therapy treatment

Oliver has now exceeded doctors' expectations after treatment, and his parents are “forever grateful”

A California toddler is thriving after becoming the first person in the world with his rare genetic condition to be treated with gene therapy.

Three-year-old Oliver Chu was born with mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II), also known as Hunter syndrome. His older brother Skyler was also born with the condition. It causes the body to have difficulty breaking down certain sugar molecules, according to the Cleveland Clinic .

As those molecule