The course is intended to give animal technologists hands-on experience of the murine embryo and spermatozoa freezing techniques routinely used at Harwell. In addition, delegates will gain experience of a simple and robust in vitro fertilization procedure.

Participants will gain first-hand experience in following techniques:

• Cryopreservation of mouse embryos produced in vivo or in vitro.
• Cryopreservation of mouse spermatozoa, and their recovery by in vitro fertilisation.
• Thawing and use of cryopreserved embryos – mouse embryo transfer techniques will be demonstrated.
• Inventory and storage of cryopreserved samples.
• Safe packaging of cryopreserved samples for domestic or international shipment.