Inside STAT: Could editing the DNA of embryos with CRISPR help save people who are already alive?

(MOLLY FERGUSON FOR STAT)

One big reason the so-called CRISPR babies made news was because they represented what the gene editing technology could one day do: try and eradicate disease before people are even born. But what could CRISPR do for people who are already alive? That’s the question of hopeful parents for “savior siblings,” where one healthy sibling serves as a donor to help an ill sibling with some kind of tissue donation. At least one couple, whose toddler has a rare genetic condition, wish that CRISPR were far enough along so it could be used to help them conceive a healthy savior sibling for their young daughter. And even though this application for CRISPR is not yet in the clinic, “I’m hopeful that they’ll eventually find a way to deploy [CRISPR] in a productive way,” Keith, the father, said. STAT’s Andrew Joseph has more here.