Inside STAT: California man pleads with scientists to 'CRISPR me'

MALAKKAR VOHRYZEK WALKS TO HIS POST OFFICE BOX AFTER APPLYING SPF 60 SUNBLOCK. (DANIA MAXWELL FOR STAT)

For 43-year-old Malakkar Vohryzek, whose daily life involves multiple risks, experimenting with CRISPR may not seem daring. The California man has struggled with an unnamed condition all his life, one that makes him especially sensitive to sunlight and has meant regular physician visits to get moles removed, high-SPF sunscreens, and night shifts at jobs to protect his alabaster skin from the sun. The federal “right to try” law that allows patients to request unapproved therapies has inspired people like Vohryzek to seek out experimental treatments. He has begun appealing to scientists all over the world — including in faraway Japan — to use CRISPR to give him genetic protection against the sun's rays. “I just want to live,” Vohryzek tells STAT’s Sharon Begley, who has the full story here.