This remarkable step forward in fighting the disease, made possible by cord blood stem cell transplants donated from a sibling.
Two years ago, a blood bag held Isaac Coute's best hope for a cure. Inside was a cord blood stem cells that might end his painful battle with sickle cell anemia.
"No one can touch him he could, he couldn't let no one touch him because it was so painful," said Isaac's mother Edna Chang.
"Sickle Cell Disease is a disorder of the red blood cell that causes a lifelong disorder causing not just anemia but also damage to other organs of the body and often ending lives early," said Blood and Marrow Director Dr. Mark Walters from the Children's Hospital.
Seven years ago, the family left their home in Panama sacrificing their comfortable, affluent existence there to give Isaac a new chance at life.
"We left everything everything, family everything. He left jobs, trying to find a treatment for Isaac," said Chang.
They believed the best care would come from Children's Hospital Oakland, renowned for its sickle cell research.
It was the birth of his sister Eunice that gave Isaac a chance at a cure. A birth the family calls a miracle, because mom, Edna, developed a pulmonary embolism during the pregnancy and almost died.
"I was so stressed that I couldn't imagine I was so stressed I was dying and I didn't know," said Chang.
Mom and baby survived, and the stem cell rich umbilical cord blood saved from the birth turned out to be a perfect match for Isaac.
Two years later, the cure the family dreamed of for Isaac, happened.
"He's cured of the disease and no longer re-receives any medications for any reason," said Dr. Walters.
"It's a miracle and we are so glad and we are so happy that God you know," said Chang.
Isaac knows he has his little sister to thank for his cure.
"She saved my life for real, I would have been dead," said sickle cell patient Isaac Coutte.
And he is thrilled to be well.
"When I heard the news I was so happy I just exploded. I'm like I'm cured, I'm cured, I'm cured," said Isaac Coutte.
Today Isaac is healthy, gaining weight and his blood count is normal.
"He's doing really, really good, really good. Now everyone is together we love to go outside, we love to do whatever together," said Chang.
A family's prayers for a cure answered with that life-saving gift from his sister.
