A procurement officer’s first cryopreservation equipment list usually has three lines on it: a tank, some straws, and “nitrogen”. By the time the laboratory opens, that list has grown to forty items, and several of them were ordered late because nobody mentioned they existed. This is the list in full, in roughly the order it tends to get discovered.

Cryopreservation equipment covers everything used to cool biological samples to cryogenic temperature and keep them there: storage tanks and dewars, dry shippers for transport, vitrification devices or controlled rate freezers, straws, goblets and canes for organising samples, level and temperature monitoring, and the protective clothing needed to handle liquid nitrogen safely.

Start with the straws, not the tank

The most expensive procurement mistake is choosing a vessel on price and finding it full in year two. Work backwards from projected inventory instead, and be honest about how slowly samples leave. Since 1 July 2022, UK patients can store eggs, sperm and embryos for up to 55 years provided they reconsent every ten years (HFEA). Discards are now a trickle.

Cryolab’s storage range splits by inventory scale:

• CryoCan 30-6, 47-6 and 47-10. 30 to 47 litres, six or ten canisters. Small andrology stock, satellite storage, bench side working stock.
• CryoNest® XL, XXL and XXXL. 95, 145 and 175 litres, six racks each. Clinic scale embryo and sperm storage.
• CryoBank Series 350-15 to 1800-95. 350 to 1,800 litres. Large laboratories, biobanks, regional hubs.

The CryoNest® vessels cover most single site clinics; the XXL at 145 litres takes six racks of up to 30 compartments. Capacities above are as listed on the live product pages. Straw counts per rack depend on your goblet and visotube combination, so ask for that calculation against your own formats rather than accepting a headline vial count.

How nitrogen actually gets into the tank

A storage vessel is only as good as its refill routine, and the equipment differs depending on volume.

For bench decanting, a non pressurised dispensing dewar with a foot pump is the safest everyday tool. The CryoCrest 35L and 50L dispensers use a manual aluminium foot pump, so there is no gas pressure to manage while pouring, and both can be supplied on a tipping trolley and roller base. For higher throughput, the CryoFill Series runs from 100 to 500 litres and pushes liquid through a hose to fill storage vessels directly.

Two questions belong in every quotation at this stage. What is the static evaporation rate of the vessel, and what does that translate to as a weekly nitrogen order? If the answer is not on the specification sheet, ask for it in writing.

Vitrification kit or controlled rate freezer

For embryos and oocytes, ASRM’s 2021 Practice Committee opinion recommends vitrification as standard of care, so the freezing equipment is the kit, the carriers and a bench dewar rather than a machine. Sperm, and some tissue and cell banking work, still use slow programmable freezing, and that needs a controlled rate freezer.

The CBS Digitcool range runs from the Nano-Digitcool at 11.5 litres to the 150 litre Digitcool. Match chamber size to batch size. A small andrology unit does not need 150 litres, and a tissue bank will find 11.5 limiting within a year.

Consumables are equipment too

Procurement often treats straws as a stock item for the laboratory to order later. That works until a straw format is chosen that does not fit the goblets and canes already bought. Settle the organisation system before ordering tank furniture.

• Straws. CBS High Security sperm straws come in 0.3 ml and 0.5 ml and seal with the SYMS or SYMS III sealer. Embryo straws are 0.15 ml and 0.3 ml.
• Goblets and visotubes. CBS Daisy Goblets are listed at up to 540 0.25 ml straws, 240 0.5 ml straws or 168 high security straws.
• Canes and sleeves. Aluminium cryocanes hold five or six ampoules; PVC cryosleeves come in packs of 100.
• Identification. A label printer rated for cryogenic exposure, cryomarkers, colour coded tabs.
• Sealers. One per freezing station, plus spares.

A useful rule: every straw format in the laboratory should have a documented path to a specific canister position.

The alarm nobody hears is not a safety system

ESHRE’s 2026 good practice recommendations state that cryostorage tanks should be continuously monitored with alarm systems that detect and log any out of range temperature or LN2 level. The CryoBank Series is listed with level, temperature and power alarms and a remote alarm output; smaller vessels usually need monitoring added separately, and a 100 cm dipstick remains the simplest daily check.

Budget for the relay to a building management system or an autodialler. A tank alarm sounding in an empty laboratory at 2 am has told nobody anything.

Protective equipment is not a line to trim

Liquid nitrogen causes cold burns on contact and displaces oxygen as it boils. BCGA Code of Practice 30 notes that asphyxia due to oxygen deficiency is often rapid with no prior warning, and records the HSE recommendation that workplace oxygen be kept above 19.5 per cent. Every laboratory handling LN2 needs cryogenic gloves, face shields and aprons sized for the people who will actually wear them, plus an oxygen depletion monitor in any room where a vessel is stored or filled.

Ten questions for any cryopreservation equipment supplier

• Which capacities are UK stock for next day delivery, and which are lead time items?
• What is the vacuum warranty, and what does it exclude?
• Is the vessel UKCA or CE marked, and can the declaration be supplied?
• What evaporation rate and hold time figures are published, and under what test conditions?
• Does the tank accept a remote alarm output?
• Which straw, goblet and cane formats are stocked to match the racking?
• Can a roller base or tipping trolley be supplied for the vessel?
• What is the servicing offer once the warranty ends?
• Are Certificates of Analysis available where traceability is required?
• Is pricing in GBP, with USD and EUR available for international sites?

Cryolab holds ISO 9001:2015 certification through BSI and is the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for CryoBioSystems, so the vessels and consumables above come from one accountable source.

For a capacity calculation against your projected inventory, or a quotation across tanks, shippers and consumables, contact the Cryolab team.