Liz Burson, BS, CCS • October 28, 2025

CRISPR: Cell-based Gene Therapy for Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease

Understanding CRISPR Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease

The FDA has approved the first cell-based gene therapy for treatment of sickle cell disease in patients 12 and older.

CRISPR can be directed to cut DNA in targeted areas, enabling the ability to accurately edit DNA where it has been cut.

Think of your DNA as an instruction manual for how your body works. Sometimes, there’s a typo in the manual that causes problems, like sickle cell disease. CRISPR is like a pair of tiny scissors and a GPS system combined. It can find the exact spot of the typo in the DNA and either fix it, remove it or replace it with the correct instructions. In CASGEVY gene therapy, physicians use CRISPR to repair or change these faulty instructions so that cells can work properly again.

How Do We Capture This:

This treatment is used for patients with recurrent vaso-occlusive crises or with a history of vaso-occlusive events.

table for CRISPR: Cell based gene therapy

Select the correct administration route – central or peripheral vein:

Graphic image for CRISPR and the correct administration route

Understanding How Section X Codes Are Reported in

ICD-10-PCS

Section X codes are standalone codes. They are not supplemental codes. Section X codes fully represent the specific procedure described in the code title, and do not require any additional codes from other sections of ICD-10-PCS. When section X contains a code title which describes a specific new technology procedure, only that X code is reported for the procedure. There is no need to report a broader, non-specific code in another section of ICD-10-PCS. The X code captures the administration so no additional code is needed.

Capturing ICD-10-PCS codes for new technologies is under-captured. To ensure your coders are capturing new technologies, check to see if your EHR has the capability to FLAG these new technologies with an alert.

Liz Burson, BS, CCS

Senior Consultant, Audit at UASI

Liz Burson serves as a Senior Consultant in Auditing at UASI, with 20+ years of outpatient and inpatient coding experience. She provides coding tips based on current audit findings to help coders improve their accuracy in capturing the correct ICD-10-CM and PCS codes.