We use the most advanced sperm packaging system anywhere, the CryoBioSystem® High Security straws. These straws are the first system designed specifically for use with human sperm, and are the only straws approved by the FDA for human sperm storage, thanks to a variety of features not found in vials or other straws.

The first thing you should know is that CBS straws are unbreakable. Shatterproof, even. You can bend one immediately after removing it from the –196 C. confines of a liquid nitrogen tank, thanks to a soft-but-durable, non-toxic plastic. CBS straws can be welded on both ends to eliminate potential contamination or tampering. When we say ‘welded’ we mean it: these welds are guaranteed to be leakproof at pressures of up to 150kg/cm2. A special filling nozzle means the contents being loaded into the straw never come into contact with the outside of the straw.

Identifying material like tags and bar coding can be placed inside the straw, snug in their own sealed compartments. The welds keep external tags from slipping off the straw. As you can imagine, these advances greatly reduce the risk of misidentifying the contents of the straw. The exterior of the straw can also be sterilized – with alcohol, usually – after thawing and before opening. Straws can also be sterilized before insertion into liquid nitrogen.

Taken together, these features make it a lot simpler to maintain perfect conditions for healthy sperm during storage, shipping and clinic use. One profound example of the biosafety of CBS straws can be found at a containment level 4 laboratory in France, where they are used for cryopreservation of Ebola samples.