How are frozen embryos stored and monitored?
The air that we breathe contains a gas called nitrogen. This gas makes up about 78% of the air around us. If nitrogen gas is cooled, it becomes liquid at –1960C. This liquid is very stable and easy to work with. In the laboratory we have large tanks filled with liquid nitrogen in which we store frozen embryos. Each tank, actually called a DEWAR, is in many ways like a large thermos flask. It is vacuum lined and has a narrow opening to slow the evaporation of the nitrogen. Each patient has a designated storage space within a tank, where his or her embryos are kept. The straws that contain the embryos are color coded and labeled with precise and unique identifying information. At a minimum, this information includes the patients full name, their date of birth, their social security number, the number of embryos in the straw, the stage at which the embryos were frozen and the date on which the freezing was performed. The tanks that contain frozen embryos are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 da
The air that we breathe contains a gas called nitrogen. This gas makes up about 78% of the air around us. If nitrogen gas is cooled, it becomes liquid at –1960C. This liquid is very stable and easy to work with. In the laboratory we have large tanks filled with liquid nitrogen in which we store frozen embryos. Each tank, actually called a DEWAR, is in many ways like a large thermos flask. It is vacuum lined and has a narrow opening to slow the evaporation of the nitrogen. Each patient has a designated storage space within a tank, where his or her embryos are kept. The straws that contain the embryos are color coded and labeled with precise and unique identifying information. At a minimum, this information includes the patients full name, their date of birth, their social security number, the number of embryos in the straw, the stage at which the embryos were frozen and the date on which the freezing was performed. The tanks that contain frozen embryos are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 da
