IVF Knowledge

If you work in an IVF lab or manage a research facility with cryogenic storage requirements, you have probably stood in front of a liquid nitrogen vessel at some point and quietly wondered if there is something better out there. Spoiler: there usually is. Cryolab makes two distinct families of LN2 storage vessels, and they are built for quite different jobs. CryoNest® Series available in 95-litre (XL), 145-litre (XXL), and 175-litre (XXXL) configurations is for labs that need scale. High sample volumes, multiple clinicians accessing the vessel throughout the day, long-term storage of embryos, oocytes, and sperm across a large patient base. The proprietary internal rack system means up to 30 compartments of organised, accessible storage in a footprint that would surprise you. Explore it at cryolab.co.uk/product-category/storage-vessels/ CryoCan Series three models: the 30-6, 47-6, and 47-10 is for labs where compactness matters as much as capacity. The 30-litre CryoCan 30-6 fits i...

If you work in fertility medicine, cell banking, or biological research in the UK, you've probably wrestled with the question of which dry shipper to trust with your most critical samples. After looking at what's available from cheap imports to premium research-grade dry shippers — the CryoStork by Cryolab stands out for a few specific reasons that matter in clinical practice. First, the hold time is genuinely reassuring. Extended hold means extended margin for error when logistics go sideways (and they do). Second, IATA P650 compliance is properly documented — not just claimed. Third, and maybe most importantly for UK-based users: there's an actual support team you can reach who understands cryogenics, not just a returns portal. Dry shipper price will always be a factor in procurement decisions. But when the cost of a failed shipment can run to tens of thousands in lost samples, clinic liability, or patient harm the conversation changes. Worth enquiring: cryolab.co.uk

Most IVF labs do not have a liquid nitrogen problem. They have a system problem. Tanks, vessels, dewars: that equipment works. What creates friction are the cryogenic accessories around it. Missing gloves. Disorganised canes. A storage vessel that made sense when patient volume was lower and now slows everything down. Cryolab recently published a proper breakdown of what a well-functioning cryogenic lab system looks like. It covers liquid nitrogen storage vessels (including 20L dewars and high-capacity CryoNest options for larger programmes), sperm analysis equipment for UK labs, CBS High Security Vitrification Kits, oocyte vitrification carriers, and safety wear including cryogenic gloves in four lengths and liquid nitrogen face shields. Worth reading if you manage, procure for, or work in an IVF or reproductive medicine lab. Full article here: Cryogenic Accessories, Storage Vessels & Lab Supplies for IVF

A study published in Fertility and Sterility suggests otherwise at least for one specific part of the process. Researchers at Columbia University developed a robot called APRIL to prepare the microdroplet culture dishes used to sustain embryos. When they compared APRIL against manual preparation in a prospective randomised trial, the robot was ten times more precise. The study's lead author, Dr Zev Williams, directs what Newsweek ranked as America's number one fertility clinic. He makes the point plainly: skilled hands still introduce variability. APRIL removes that variability from one step. Other systems Conceivable Life's AURA, Overture Life's DaVitri are tackling other steps. The automation is coming in layers, not all at once. For embryologists, the job does not disappear. It concentrates on what machines cannot do: reading a cycle, making a call, being present for a family.  Full article here: https://cryolab.co.uk/april-robot-ivf-laboratory-embryo-culture-dishes/

When most people think about IVF lab equipment, they think about the big-ticket items — the incubators, the microscopes, the nitrogen tanks. What rarely gets discussed are the small things that prevent large problems. I am talking about cryocanes, cryosleeves, visotubes, and cane coders. These four products form the organisational layer of cryogenic storage. They are not glamorous, but they are what the system runs on. A cryocane holds your samples in position inside the liquid nitrogen canister. The cryosleeve protects the loaded cane during handling — that brief moment when you pull it up and out. The visotube is the transparent container that keeps your straw visible and organised. And the coder tells you, at a glance, which cane holds which group of samples without exposing anything unnecessarily to room temperature. Used properly, these four things together mean faster retrievals, lower sample exposure times, and a colour-coded system that any embryologist can read immediately....

 Oocyte denudation the mechanical removal of cumulus oophorus and corona radiata cells preceding ICSI  is a universal laboratory procedure yet one of the least formally standardised steps in assisted reproduction. Governance frameworks that now comprehensively cover culture media, incubation, and cryopreservation have largely not been extended to denudation technique. Current Evidence The meiotic spindle presents the primary area of concern. Located at the first polar body, the MII spindle is both invisible under conventional light microscopy and sensitive to mechanical disruption. Polscope studies have associated aggressive mechanical stripping with measurable spindle displacement and downstream chromosomal consequences. Hyaluronidase exposure duration represents a second variable. Published data supports brief, timed exposure typically 20–40 seconds over visually guided, open-ended treatment. Labs implementing exposure limits report improvements in oocyte survival and fe...