Embryo cryopreservation
Embryos are generated by IVF from the males and females you provide and frozen in cryopreservation straws of about 25 embryos. One straw is usually enough for one foster female to produce live offspring. The pups obtained after thawing have exactly the genotype and phenotype of the line before freezing.
What counts as a successful freezing
| All embryos of one genotype | 150 to 200 embryos |
|---|---|
| A mix of homozygous, heterozygous and wild-type | 250 to 350 embryos |
| Quality control, included | A test thaw of fewer than 10 embryos, checked live and cultured to blastocysts |
What it takes
| Mice | 20 or more females under 6 weeks old, and 5 to 10 males |
|---|---|
| Sessions | 3 or more, 4 to 5 on average |
| Time | 2 weeks to 2 months, depending on the sessions needed and the availability of females |
| Cost to freeze | About $900 to $1,200 per session, not including the mice |
| Recovering live mice later | About $650 from embryos frozen at MICAM |
The IVF procedure is terminal; no material is returned. We do not genotype the donors; tissue from each animal used is kept for you, all samples in one tube. Keep your males in mating, and be ready to prepare more animals than necessary so the procedure can be repeated if the first attempt does not reach the numbers above.
Request this service
McGill Integrated Core for Animal Modeling (MICAM) replies with scope and price.
Your details
Nothing is booked or charged until you accept a quote.
How it goes
You ask
Say what you need, in your words.
They scope it
The facility confirms it can be done and may ask for a detail or two.
You accept a quote
Price and timing, agreed before any work starts.
Results come back
Files arrive in your requests, with a note from the facility.
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