Every straw has an address

The tanks themselves are assets, and they are logged as assets

A cryobank fails at the dewar, not at the database, so the tank register is the foundation of this module. Each tank carries its local code, its manufacturer serial number, its physical location in the facility, its current nitrogen level, the date it was last topped up and the date its next inspection falls due. An in-service flag marks retired vessels separately from the record lifecycle, so a decommissioned tank stays legible in historical positions rather than disappearing. Behind the register sits a small catalogue of tank models with their nominal capacity, which is what makes occupancy a percentage rather than a guess.

• Built screen set: tank list, create form and detail drawer
• Detail drawer carries General Info and a change-audit History tab
• Two tank models ship seeded, with capacity in units
• Next check date functions as the safety-monitoring tickler

One row per position, not one note per patient

The localisation map is the heart of the module. Each row is a physical position in the cryobank, owned by a named patient file and typed as embryo, oocyte or sperm, addressed hierarchically down to the individual straw. It records whether the slot is currently occupied or has been emptied, the date the specimen went in, and the storage or consent expiry date that eventually drives a renewal or disposal conversation. Where the content is an embryo the row links to the embryology embryo record; otherwise it links back to the oocyte or sperm freeze session that produced it. That link is what turns a shelf position into chain of custody.

• Built screen set, with the patient locked once a position exists
• Content type constrained to embryo, oocyte or sperm at database level
• Position status distinguishes active, used or removed, and deleted
• Optional cane or cryolabel text held alongside the numeric address

Oocyte vitrification, session and egg

Egg banking is recorded at two levels. The freeze session is the ledger entry: the patient, the treatment cycle, the date, the embryologist, the method, the cryoprotectant and named protocol, the number of oocytes frozen and, once known, the number that survived warming. Beneath it the system models an individual row for each frozen egg, carrying its sequence number within the session, its maturity stage, its extra-cytoplasmic and intra-cytoplasmic morphology grades, its own tank, canister, goblet and straw address, and its eventual fate as frozen, thawed, discarded or used in fertilisation. That per-egg register is held in the data model with a working API; no dedicated screen has been built for it yet.

• Freeze method offered as vitrification or slow freeze, defaulting to vitrification
• Lock flag freezes a finalised session against editing
• Per-egg maturity defaults to metaphase II
• Per-egg thaw date and warming outcome recorded individually

Sperm banking, from indication to post-thaw recovery

The sperm freeze record covers why the sample was banked and how it was obtained, which matters because oncology preservation, IVF preparation, elective banking and surgical retrieval for azoospermia are different clinical situations with different consent and expiry consequences. It records the pre-freeze volume, concentration and motility, the number of straws laid down, the method and cryoprotectant, the storage position and the expiry date. The companion thaw record closes the loop: how many straws were warmed, the recovered volume, concentration, motility and morphology, and whether the sample was sufficient for its intended use. Freezing is a built screen; the thaw register is modelled and API-served, without a dedicated screen so far.

What the inventory tells you back

Because positions, capacities and session counts are structured, the cryobank reports itself. A dedicated cryo statistics screen surfaces freeze and thaw volumes for oocytes, sperm and embryos, oocyte and embryo survival rates, the number of active tanks and the tank occupancy rate, serving both laboratory quality control and capacity planning. Expiry dates held per position and per sperm session make consent-renewal review a query rather than a spreadsheet. One caveat worth stating plainly: cross-record automation, such as a slot marking itself vacant when its specimen is thawed and used, is deferred, so occupancy currently reflects what staff have recorded rather than being derived automatically.