A reliable procedure for decontamination before thawing of human specimens cryostored in liquid nitrogen: three washes with sterile liquid nitrogen (SLN2)

Cryostorage of human gametes and embryos: a reckoning

“…It is understandably a concern of regulators and the subject of extensive discussion by practitioners (Bielanski and Vajta, 2009). Some investigators have suggested that liquid nitrogen should be sterilized in order to prevent such contamination when so-called open cryodevices, which bring the sample in direct contact with the liquid, are utilized (Parmegiani et al, 2012). However, while cases of contamination have been reported in settings such as blood banking or under extreme experimental conditions, this risk appears to be low in the ART setting and, so far, remains hypothetical (Pomeroy et al, 2010).…”

Human Reproductive Cell Cryopreservation, Storage, Handling, and Transport: Risks and Risk Management

“…It is also possible to decontaminate frozen human specimens before warming. 55 This procedure consists of washing the specimens with sterile liquid nitrogen and has been shown to efficiently decontaminate vitrification cryodevices even under extreme experimental conditions, in which the concentration of microorganisms was more than ten thousand times higher (10 8 -10 9 CFU for bacteria and >10 5 CFU for fungi) than any observed under ordinary conditions. The procedure can be performed routinely in ART laboratories for the safe thawing/warming of human gametes and embryos cryostored in "nonhermetical" cryodevices, particularly in the case of "open" or singlestraw-closed vitrification systems.…”

Effects of different open cryo-carriers on embryo survival and clinical outcome in frozen embryo transfer cycle patients

“…The CryoleafTM looks like the CryotopTM, but it has a curved sheet which can accumulate a very small volume of liquid to achieve a glass-like state. Although all of these have been applied to oocyte and embryo cryopreservation (Desai et al 2013;Murakami et al 2014;Parmegiani et al 2012), the difference in the cooling and warming rate exists owing to their intrinsic differences in structures. However, our knowledge on the safety of different open cryo-devices and the influence of vitrification on offspring health is still far from complete.…”