Protecting the seed, fertilizing the soil. Administration of PTH, or other “niche” boosters, may restore altered BM homeostasis in β-thalassemia patients resulting in more “fitted” HSC for gene therapy and a more permissive BM niche for engraftment of donor cells. Design elements were obtained from Smart Servier Medical Art (https://smart.servier.com/) and modified as needed. The bone marrow microenvironment snapshot is an image generated by the author.