Does gene therapy make people Genetically Modified Organisms?
Here’s my nonprofessional opinion to your interesting question.
The virus delivering the healthy gene(s) will have to plant its DNA onto one of the chromosomes (the strands that carry the genes) of the retinal cell. As a result, some viral DNA will become a permanent part of that retinal cell, making it genetically modified.
But unlike GMO foods, which the body has to first break down and then reuse as building blocks throughout the body, having some localized GM cells in the eyes will not affect the rest of the body, because these cells cannot migrate outside of the eyes and their modified genetic makeup definitely will not pass on to the next generation, only the healthy genes they received will now enable them to function once again.
So while we should be very concerned about GMO foods, gene therapy is a good thing.