Patient Guide
How to Move Frozen Embryos to Another Storage Facility
Short version: you get a release form signed at your current clinic, you get the new facility to agree in writing to take your embryos, and then someone physically carries them over. The embryos are never thawed. The rest of this page is the detail, and the warnings about where it goes wrong.
If you have not yet decided whether relocating is worth it, start with the embryo storage cost guide, which sets out how to compare a recurring storage fee against a one-time move.
The paperwork takes longer than the journey
Patients routinely expect the opposite. The physical transport of a domestic US hand-carry transfer is typically same-day to 48 hours. Getting the release authorisation signed by everyone who has to sign it, and getting written acceptance from the receiving facility, is what determines when your move actually happens. Begin the paperwork well before any date you care about.
The five steps, in order
Step 1
Get a written inventory from your current facility
Ask for the exact count of cryodevices, straws, or vials, the freeze dates, and the storage identifiers, in writing. This document drives everything downstream. A receiving facility cannot confirm acceptance against a vague description, and a transport provider cannot size the shipper or quote accurately without knowing what is actually being moved.
Watch for: If the inventory you receive does not match what you believed you had, resolve that discrepancy before anything moves, not after.
Step 2
Confirm the receiving facility will accept them
Acceptance is not a formality. Ask the destination facility to confirm in writing that it will accept your specimens, what its current fee schedule is, what documentation it needs before arrival, and what its receiving hours are. Some facilities only accept deliveries on particular days or require advance notice of a delivery window.
Watch for: Ask about intake or accession fees at the same time. They belong in your cost comparison and are easy to overlook.
Step 3
Complete the release authorisation
The releasing facility issues its own release or disposition form. Request it as early as possible. Signature requirements are set by the consent you originally signed and commonly require every named party; some facilities also require notarisation or original wet signatures rather than scans.
Watch for: This is where transfers stall. If a required signatory is hard to reach, is abroad, or your circumstances have changed since the original consent, start here first and let everything else follow.
Step 4
Book the cryogenic transport
Give your transport provider both facility contacts and let them coordinate laboratory to laboratory directly. The two labs need to agree a collection window and a delivery window that both can staff, and that scheduling conversation is faster between labs than through a patient relaying messages.
Watch for: Confirm the provider carries the specimens in a validated dry vapor shipper with monitoring, and ask whether a named person travels with them or whether the container is consigned unattended.
Step 5
Verify receipt and close the old account
On arrival the receiving laboratory checks the delivered inventory against the manifest and issues confirmation of receipt. Keep it. Then go back to the releasing facility and get written confirmation that storage has ended and billing has stopped as of the release date.
Watch for: Do not assume the old account closes itself. Closing it explicitly, in writing, is the step that actually ends the recurring fee you set out to eliminate.
What the transport step involves
Your specimens travel vitrified, inside a dry vapor shipper. The container holds liquid nitrogen absorbed into a porous internal lining rather than as free liquid, which is what makes it acceptable for air transport and what stops nitrogen from spilling in transit.
What temperature they travel at
About -190°C. If you see -196°C on someone's website, that is the boiling point of liquid nitrogen rather than the temperature inside a dry shipper, where the specimens sit in vapor rather than liquid. The threshold that actually matters is around -130°C, and a charged shipper runs well below it. Ask for the monitoring data after delivery. A provider who cannot hand you the log is asking you to take the cold chain on trust.
Questions worth asking any transport provider
- 1.Does a named person travel with the shipper, or is the container consigned to cargo and handled unattended? This is the single biggest structural difference between providers.
- 2.What temperature monitoring is included, and will I receive the data log afterwards?
- 3.Who coordinates directly with the two laboratories, and who is my point of contact if a flight is delayed?
- 4.What is included in the quoted price, and what is billed separately?
- 5.What is the contingency if the receiving laboratory cannot accept delivery on the planned day?
The differences between provider models, described using each company's own published wording, are set out in our comparison of cryo transport companies.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to move embryos to another storage facility?
The physical transport is usually the shortest part. For a domestic US hand-carry transfer the movement itself is typically same-day to 48 hours. The paperwork ahead of it is what sets the real timeline, because it depends on how quickly the releasing facility issues and processes the release authorisation, how quickly every signatory signs, and how quickly the receiving facility confirms acceptance. Starting the paperwork several weeks ahead of any date you care about is sensible.
Do embryos have to be thawed to be moved?
No. Frozen embryos are relocated in the vitrified state inside a validated dry vapor shipper, which holds cryogenic temperature throughout transit. They are not thawed at any point during a properly conducted transfer.
Who has to sign the release form?
This is determined by the consent and storage agreement signed at the time of cryopreservation, and typically requires every party named on that consent. Requirements differ by facility and by state, and some facilities additionally require notarisation. Ask your facility for its specific requirements in writing at the start of the process rather than discovering them at the end. GuardianCryo is a transport company and cannot advise on the legal aspects of consent or disposition.
Can I transport my own embryos myself?
Most facilities will not release specimens to a patient directly, and will only release to a recognised specimen transport provider or to another licensed facility. Beyond facility policy, moving cryogenic material involves a charged dry vapor shipper, dangerous-goods provisions for air transport, and documentation at both ends. Check your releasing facility's policy first, since it usually settles the question.
Will my old clinic stop billing me once the embryos leave?
Not always automatically. Get written confirmation from the releasing facility that storage has been terminated and billing has stopped as of the release date, and keep the receiving facility's confirmation of receipt alongside it. Patients occasionally continue to be invoiced by a facility that no longer holds their specimens simply because the account was never closed.
We handle step four
Give us the releasing facility and the destination and we will coordinate directly with both laboratories and hand-carry your specimens between them.
GuardianCryo is a specimen transport company. We are not a storage facility and we do not provide medical or legal advice. Consent, disposition, and release requirements are matters for your clinic and, where relevant, your own legal counsel.
