Custom cryopreservation service

Our Custom Cryo Service can cryogenically preserve inbred, mutant, and genetically modified lines of mice that cannot be cryopreserved using our Speed Cryo Service. The cost of this service is dependent upon many factors including: mouse background strain, fertility rate of the strain, and how many mice are sent to us in order to complete the project.

You can rely upon our expertise and extensive experience to successfully and cost-effectively cryopreserve your strains.

The process

Based on information supplied by you, we will provide an estimate of the cost and time required to cryopreserve the strain. In general, we recommend that at least 300 embryos be cryopreserved, with our specific recommendation based on the viability and developmental competence of embryos from a particular strain.

The estimate we provide will be based on our experience with similar strains and on the number of animals available to initiate a project. If necessary, The Jackson Laboratory can custom breed mice or provide mice of appropriate background in order to complete the project. Once the project is initiated, all project mice will be housed and maintained in isolators in our quarantine facility. Our specially trained technicians will harvest embryos from project mice and cryopreserve them in straws in groups of approximately 25 embryos per straw. Early in the project, embryo yield and viability will be evaluated to determine how much the actual cost or duration of the project will vary from our initial estimate. If a significant deviation from the estimate is expected, you will be contacted and given a revised estimate of the cost and time required to complete the project.

Quality control

Quality control for this service is critical and while we provide different levels of quality control, we strongly recommend that quality control for Custom Cryo projects include recovery of live pups. Our basic level of quality control involves thawing a straw of embryos from the strain being cryopreserved along with a straw of control embryos frozen at the same time and culturing them to determine the proportion that develop to the blastocyst stage. Alternatively, the embryos can be transferred into pseudopregnant females.

In the event that embryos fail to survive and develop at adequate rates, embryos from a second straw will be evaluated and compared to control embryos. If there appears to be a strain-specific issue with embryo viability or developmental competence, we will contact the you and provide with options for continuing the project or give the option of discontinuing the project.

Term of storage

We will maintain the cryopreserved mouse strain in liquid nitrogen storage for 5 years. Additional years of storage can be purchased to extend the storage time. To guard against catastrophic loss of the stored straws due to some unforeseen occurrence, the straws will be stored in two separate locations. 

We will provide you with an annual report that details the number of straws and balance of storage time remaining on your term of storage. At the end of the initial five-year storage period, the following options will be available:

  • Elect to fund additional storage for additional cost.
  • Provide written instructions to have the embryos destroyed.
  • Permit The Jackson Laboratory (TJL) to continue to maintain the frozen embryos at no cost, with the condition that TJL would be authorized to distribute embryos for research use.

Cost 

The cost of this service is comprised of a number of factors including: the number of embryos to be cryopreserved, the length of time necessary to produce the needed embryos, an importation charge, the cost of housing, the cost of breeding (if needed) of the mice, and the cost of any mice provided by JAX® Services to complete this project. Additional services, such as additional years of storage, shipment of embryos, recovery, and colony expansion are also available.

The current fees for these services are listed below:

  • Additional years of storage at $175/year
  • Live born as quality control $500
  • Shipment of straws to one location $295
  • Shipment of litters from 2 successful transfers $895

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More information

Related services

At The Jackson Laboratory we continue to pioneer the application of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) to advance research and improve colony management.

Speed cryo - Speed Cryo utilizes numerous innovations for cryogenically preserving mouse strains in a quick and economical fashion that permits rapid recovery upon request.

Speed expansion - Expanding colonies to meet increases in demand or to establish dedicated supply colonies is expensive and time-consuming. JAX® Services utilizes assisted reproductive services such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) to rapidly expand colonies--saving time and money over building colonies through traditional methods. Learn more about our Speed Expansion Service.

Strain rescue - Are you having breeding problems with a specific mouse strain? Are there health or other issues that threaten the extinction of your mouse strain? Our Strain Rescue Service has been designed to help with these problems.

CryoRecovery - At The Jackson Laboratory we utilize our unsurpassed expertise and experience along with exacting quality control procedures during cryopreservation to provide the highest probability of successful recovery. Learn more about CryoRecovery.