The methods and compositions described herein surprisingly increase CRISPR/Cas- mediated gene editing in stem cells by transiently treating the cells with a stem cell viability enhancer prior to and/or after contacting the cells with one or more CRISPR/Cas9 components. Further, this treatment also surprisingly results in increased engraftment of the stem cells into the target tissue of a subject. The present disclosure also provides one or more modified CRISPR/Cas9 components which, when used in combination with the stem cell viability enhancer, further increases the frequency of gene editing in stem cells, increases stem cell viability, and increases stem cell engraftment.
