When we talked to Dr Sadelain back in 2006, he told us that age would not be a factor in gene therapy. However, the health is, so chelate and stay in good shape. The costs will be high like with a bone marrow transplant, at least at first. However, this cost has to be balanced against the long term costs of thalassemia treatment, which is quite high itself. The lucky ones will be those chosen for trials over the years before it is approved.