Choosing laboratory consumables for an IVF setting requires treating the consumables as a system rather than a list of individual line items. Every consumable in the cryogenic storage chain – straws, cryovials, goblets, visotubes, cryocanes, and cryosleeves – must be dimensionally compatible with the others and must perform reliably at -195.8 degrees C. Purchasing each component from a different supplier without verifying compatibility is the most common source of persistent low-level problems in IVF cryogenic storage.
What are the key selection criteria for IVF cryogenic consumables?
The selection criteria that matter most are: performance at cryogenic temperature (does the material remain intact and functional at -195.8 degrees C), dimensional compatibility with the other components in the storage chain, labelling durability (does the identification remain legible through storage and retrieval), and regulatory compliance (are the consumables appropriate for use in an HFEA-licensed clinical setting).
Price is a legitimate consideration, but unit cost should never be the primary selection criterion for consumables that form part of the sample identification chain. A cryosleeve that costs 10p less per unit but cracks during retrieval is not cheaper.
Should IVF consumables be sourced from a single supplier?
Sourcing cryogenic consumables from a supplier who can confirm that the components in their range are designed and tested to work together significantly reduces compatibility risk. It also simplifies the documentation required under the laboratory’s quality management system: a single supplier specification is easier to maintain and audit than a multi-supplier matrix.
How should consumables specification be documented?
The full consumables specification – which cryocane size, which cryosleeve format, which goblets, which visotubes, and which straws or cryovials are in use – should be recorded in the laboratory’s quality management system. Any change to the specification, including a switch between suppliers or a change in product format, should be subject to the same change control process applied to equipment changes.
Consumables in an IVF laboratory are not a purchasing decision. They are a specification decision – and they should be treated with the same rigour as any other component of the cryogenic storage system.
Cryolab supplies a full range of IVF laboratory consumables specified as a compatible system. Browse at cryolab.co.uk/ivf-consumables/ or contact us at cryolab.co.uk/contact-us/.
