IVF Knowledge

If you work in a fertility clinic or research lab, you already know that not all vitrification kits are built the same. The CBS High Security Vitrification Kit from Cryolab is one that has been getting attention across the UK, and for good reason. It uses a closed carrier system which means the sample never comes into direct contact with liquid nitrogen. For labs handling multiple patients, that contamination protection is invaluable. The kit is consistent batch to batch, which matters enormously when you are running high volumes. Cryolab supplies these vit kits directly to laboratories across the United Kingdom. Have a look at the full product listing here: cryolab.co.uk/product/vit-kit/

  Walk into a UK IVF storage room that was set up more than ten years ago and there is a reasonable chance you will see an MVE XC 47 somewhere in it. The tank became the default specification for mid-capacity cryogenic storage in clinical reproductive medicine because it was reliably available, well-understood by embryologists, and backed by Chart Industries with a strong track record. That reputation is well earned. MVE cryogenic tanks continue to be specified by UK IVF clinics, NHS fertility units, and andrology labs because they perform consistently and the product range is mature and well-supported. MVE XC 47 in UK clinical use The XC 47 series offers 47 litres of liquid nitrogen capacity with a 127mm neck opening and canister configurations for six or ten positions. The vacuum warranty from Chart Industries runs to five years. The static evaporation rate of around 0.35 litres per day means hold times of over 100 days under normal static conditions, giving labs reliable s...

Some pieces of lab equipment come and go. The 50 litre liquid nitrogen dewar is not one of them. It has been a fixture in IVF labs, andrology units, and veterinary reproduction facilities for long enough that most practitioners do not question its presence, they just order another one when the old one starts underperforming. That longevity is not accidental. The 50 litre configuration solves a genuine problem in a way that neither smaller nor much larger vessels do quite as well. The problem it solves Clinical cryogenic storage needs to be accessible, safe, and manageable without specialist infrastructure. A 20 litre dewar gets accessed constantly and refilled frequently. A 200 litre vessel requires more planning, more space, and more liquid nitrogen budget than a mid-sized clinic can justify. The 50 litre vessel sits in a range where the refill interval is measured in weeks rather than days, the vessel can be moved by two members of staff, and the sample capacity covers a meanin...

  Laboratory consumables may appear simple, but they are one of the most important parts of any scientific or medical environment. Every day, laboratories rely on consumables to maintain safe, sterile and accurate working conditions. In IVF clinics, consumables support embryo handling, fertility procedures and cryogenic preservation. In healthcare laboratories, consumables are used for diagnostics, pathology and patient testing. As demand for healthcare and fertility treatment grows across the UK, laboratories increasingly need reliable suppliers capable of providing specialist products for regulated laboratory environments. Cryolab supports laboratories across the UK and Ireland with laboratory consumables, IVF products and cryogenic storage solutions designed for professional use. https://cryolab.co.uk

When a specification committee at a fertility clinic sits down to select a cryogenic storage vessel, the deliberation rarely lasts long. Almost invariably, the 20L liquid nitrogen dewar ends up in the order. Not because it is the cheapest. Because it is exactly right for what the overwhelming majority of these facilities actually need. The 20L size evolved through decades of use in reproductive medicine as the capacity that balances sample volume, nitrogen management burden, physical footprint, and cost of replacement. A clinic processing 15 to 25 patient cases per week generates roughly 75 to 150 straws of stored material per week. A 20L dewar with a standard canister configuration accommodates 300 to 450 straws before the facility needs to rotate to a second vessel. For veterinary practices, the 20L dewar is even more dominant. Equine and bovine semen storage, canine semen banking, and feline oocyte research all happen in 20L vessels because the sample volumes are smaller than hu...

  Most laboratory managers know they need a dewar. Fewer know exactly which type to specify, and the difference matters more than most people realise. Get it wrong and you are either transporting samples in a vessel that was never designed for transit or storing long term material in something built for a day trip. Two Vessels, Two Very Different Jobs A dry shipper dewar looks similar to a storage dewar from the outside. Inside, they are completely different. A dry shipper holds nitrogen in an absorbent lining. There is no free liquid. This makes it safe to tip, safe to fly, and approved under IATA regulations for air transport of biological material. It is the right vessel for any laboratory sending samples between sites. A storage dewar holds free liquid nitrogen. It sits on your laboratory floor, it does not move, and it maintains your samples at minus 196 degrees Celsius for months at a time. It is the right vessel for any laboratory that needs long term liquid nitrogen d...