A major step forward for people living with vision loss in Ireland — Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec), the first gene therapy for inherited retinal disease, has arrived and already changed a life.

Stuart Haxell, a 31-year-old visually impaired athlete from Sligo, became the first patient in Ireland to receive Luxturna at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin. Diagnosed through the Target 5000 programme, Stuart was functionally blind for over a decade due to a rare inherited retinal dystrophy. Within two weeks of treatment, he experienced significant improvements and can now read and see the world around him again.

This milestone was made possible thanks to Fighting Blindness, a patient-led charity with a mission to cure blindness. The organisation is dedicated to advancing research and funding life-changing treatments, ensuring access to genetic testing. This work brings hope to people living with rare inherited conditions such as Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA) and Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) — both of which can be caused by mutations in the RPE65 gene. 

Inherited retinal dystrophies are extremely rare, with only one patient identified every 2–3 years. The Target 5000initiative works to genetically diagnose and support individuals across Ireland with IRDs, helping to identify those who may benefit from emerging treatments like Luxturna.

As Professor David Keegan, Stuart’s surgeon, noted: “This is the start of the precision medicine era.”

With a national registry now being developed and systems in place to treat more patients, this marks a major step forward in bringing life-changing therapies like Luxturna to those who need them most.

Watch Stuart’s powerful story on RTÉ News 👉 https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0218/1497393-stuart-haxell/