Service
Embryo transport
Movement of cryopreserved embryos between licensed clinics and storage facilities, planned around the laboratory schedules at both ends.
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Embryo transfers are usually part of a longer treatment plan, so the date that suits the courier is rarely the date that matters. We work backwards from the clinical schedule: when the receiving laboratory can accept the material, when the sending laboratory can release it, and what has to be in place before either can happen.
Assessment begins with the two clinics rather than with the route. Once both confirm what they require, we set out the documentation, the proposed collection and delivery windows, and the conditions the shipment will be carried under.
Who it is for
- Patients moving stored embryos between clinics, at home or abroad
- Fertility clinics transferring material on a patient's written instruction
- Clinics closing, merging or consolidating a storage programme
- Patients continuing treatment in another country
What is transported
- Vitrified or slow-frozen embryos in clinic-applied straws, cryolocks or equivalent carriers
- The canes, canisters or goblets supplied by the sending laboratory
- The release documentation that accompanies the material
How it runs
Coordination - and what happens at each point
How coordination works
We contact the sending and receiving laboratories directly and confirm, in writing, what each expects of the other.
Collection and delivery windows are proposed by us and agreed by both laboratories before a courier is assigned.
The patient or enquirer is copied into scheduling decisions but is not asked to relay information between clinics.
Before collection
- Confirm that both clinics hold the authorisations required for the route
- Review consent and release documentation with the sending clinic
- Agree the shipper type and the preparation the laboratory will carry out
- Confirm identifiers, container counts and labelling with the laboratory
- Issue a written summary of the agreed plan to all parties
During transport
- The shipment is accompanied by a named courier from collection to handover
- Custody records are dated, timed and signed at each transfer of responsibility
- The shipper is not passed to third-party handling agents
- Where a route changes, both clinics are informed before the change is made
At handover
- The receiving laboratory checks the shipper seals and identifiers against the release documentation
- Receipt is signed by a named member of the receiving laboratory
- A completed custody record is returned to both clinics and to the enquirer
What we need from you
Information required to assess this route
Enough to judge whether the movement can proceed, and no more. Please do not send medical records.
- Names and locations of the sending and receiving clinics
- A laboratory contact at each clinic
- The number and type of containers to be moved
- Preferred collection and delivery windows, and how flexible they are
- Confirmation that consent and release paperwork is in progress
Limitations
Where this service stops
Stated up front, because finding out later is worse for everybody.
- Requirements differ by origin, destination and the organisations involved, and are confirmed during assessment.
- Some routes are not available. Where that is the case we will say so at assessment rather than after booking.
- Transport does not affect, and cannot be taken to affect, the clinical outcome of any treatment.
Related services
- Sperm sample transportFrozen samples for treatment, storage, transfer or donor programmes, released by the sending laboratory against written authorisation.
- Oocyte transportTransfers of cryopreserved eggs supporting treatment cycles, fertility preservation programmes and cross-border care.
- Stem cell and cellular material transportMovement of cryopreserved cellular material between laboratories and programmes, subject to review of the destination requirements.
Request a quote
Request a quote for embryos
Send us the two clinics, the material and your preferred timing. We will assess the route and confirm what it involves.
A quotation is provided following case assessment. Requirements vary by origin, destination and the organisations involved, and some routes cannot be supported.