The Cryopreservation Program
The Cryopreservation program provides centralized services for the cryopreservation and recovery of strains. Cryopreservation protects against breeding cessation, catastrophic losses, genetic drift and genetic contamination while eliminating the cost and necessity of maintaining stocks when those stocks are not being actively used.
For more than two decades, The Jackson Laboratory has maintained a successful cryopreservation program. The program has cryopreserved more than 5,000 lines as embryos, sperm or ovaries and recovers more than 400 lines per year. Cryopreserved stocks are stored in liquid nitrogen (-196ºC) and backed up by storage at a remote site.
The length of time required to complete cryopreservation projects ranges from a few weeks to a year or more depending upon the method of cryopreservation, availability of mice and the yield/viability of embryos produced. For recovery projects, live mice can typically be recovered within 15 weeks of an order being placed.
