Effects of delivery time and different cryopreservation methods on canine epididymal sperm

Abstract

Recent years have seen a drastic decline in biodiversity. In addition to the traditional in vitro conservation of genetic material, there is a need to establish a well-functioning protocol to cryopreserve the genetic material of a male of an endangered species or with valuable genetics. Storage of epididymal sperm is a feasible method to achieve this goal, however, time of sample delivery and freezing technique are key factors affecting the success rate. Our aim was to investigate the freezing ability of canine epididymal spermatozoa in fresh stadium and after 24 hours storage at 4°C with two different freezing protocols (ultra rapid freezing [UR] and vitrification [VF]).