Let’s be honest: having your embryos, sperm or eggs frozen, stored or shipped can be a stressful and anxiety-inducing process.
As a patient, you might not know enough about the storage facility or you may have to wait for cross-country shipping in uncertain conditions.
On the other side of the process, clinics only have so much physical space – what happens when you run out or have to rely on out-of-state storage, (nevermind outside the city?)
My friends Sean Pae and Ginger Huang have over 35 years of combined experience in cryo-storage and embryology, and they’re on a mission to change the industry for fertility patients and clinics alike.
Their company CryoFuture stores embryos, eggs and sperm in a way that creates more security, flexibility, transparency and accessibility throughout the entire process.
I’m so thrilled to have them on the show today to answer some of your most pressing questions and share how CryoFuture is paving the way for the future of fertility storage.
Dr. Aimee: I have my dear friends Ginger and Sean on today. Welcome to the show!
Ginger: Hi.
Sean: Hello. Thank you for having us.
Dr. Aimee: You’re not just my friends, you’re also basically revolutionizing the experience that patients have who need to send their eggs, sperm, embryos to long term storage. You’re doing stuff that I wish had been around for the last 15 years, so thank you.
Sean: My pleasure. It’s a problem that we’d been facing, that I’d been facing as an embryologist, and I wished there was a company that solved these problems, so I’m just here to provide support for our fellow embryologists.
Dr. Aimee: Sean, just share a little bit more about yourself. Then we’ll have Ginger go next, and then we’ll talk about CryoFuture and what you guys are doing to help patients.
Sean: The biggest thing we’re trying to do is we’re trying to solve the problems of storage issues. The problem really differentiates into two perspectives.
We have a problem in terms of the patient side, where storage cost is really going up due to limited space at the clinic. It’s really putting a lot of pressure on their IVF treatment cycles over years. Our aim is to offer cost-effective and highly secure storage option for the patients. Patients have less transparencies in terms of the specimens stored at their fertility clinics. Our goal is to increase transparency for patients regarding the specimens stored at their fertility clinics, offering them greater peace of mind and confidence.
Another problem from a clinic perspective is that the clinics have been operating in the same facility locations for the past 20 to 30 years, and it only makes sense that they’re going to run out of space eventually. We’re here as a modular support structure in the local area to help alleviate that pressure on their side. Traditionally, a lot of these storage facilities have been located outside of the state, so the closest one to California is in Nevada, and the best method of transportation is using FedEx or UPS. It’s really difficult logistically to send thousands of specimens through a FedEx. Not that it’s not the most reliable method, but I’m saying that it’s logistically not the most cost effective method.
CryoFuture is dedicated to addressing the pressing challenge of space shortage and transportation obstacles in the fertility industry. With our strategically located facilities in close proximity to major fertility clinics, we offer unparalleled convenience and accessibility. Our strong partnerships with these clinics ensure seamless coordination and a hassle-free experience for our clients. Our team of expert technicians goes above and beyond to ensure the safety and security of the precious specimens entrusted to us. We personally handle all transfers, never allowing the specimens out of our sight. With CryoFuture, you can rest assured that your specimens are in the most capable and caring hands possible.
We’re committed to enhancing accessibility to fertility clinics and ensuring our services are readily available for those in need. Our staff is highly trained to provide emergency services and we’re equipped to transport specimens to the clinics efficiently. We believe in transparency and want our patients to have a clear understanding of the entire process, including how the specimens are frozen, stored, and the safety measures in place for the tanks. Our goal is to provide peace of mind and ensure the best possible outcome for our patients.
Those are the problems we’re trying to solve for the IVF industry.
Dr. Aimee: And you’re doing a great job. Ginger, you’re an expert also in this field. Tell us about your experience as well.
Ginger: I’ve had 15 years of experience in cryo-management. I manage the storage of frozen eggs, sperm, embryos, and their transportation. I’ve had a lot of experience in anticipating all of the pitfalls. That’s where we have put in all we’ve learned, Sean as an embryologist, and as a cryo-manager, we’ve put this in our company.
Dr. Aimee: You guys are so nice. I think that’s another problem, the customer service aspect. Just knowing that people can call you and coordinate things so easily. I think what my patients are doing is they’re trying to create love and they want to make sure that someone loves their samples and specimens and cares as much as they do, and I know that you guys really do, so that definitely comes across. Thank you.
Ginger: We understand what we’re handling and what we’re providing as a service for the clinics and for the patients, and what it means to them. We do understand the concerns, the questions about safety, so we’ve put a lot of processes in place and we want to provide that assurance. We understand the anxiety and the stress that goes along with IVF. We definitely want to alleviate that by providing that white glove service to them.
Dr. Aimee: White glove service, obviously means that you’re hand-carrying things. What about for my patient who, let’s say, lives in Texas and she’s worried about her samples getting on a FedEx plane, for example, what can you do to alleviate her concerns?
Sean: All of our transport cryostorage tanks are GPS tracked, live cellular temperature monitored and secured in a locked shipping container. When the specimens are shipped, we have an understanding on where the shipper is. If the temperature goes out of range, then we will be notified. The first thing we’ll do is geo-locate exactly where the specimen tank is, and we’ll continuously monitor how it goes. When the problem consistently arises, one of our technicians will actually go directly to that GPS location with a backup tank, switch over the tanks, and hand-deliver the specimens on their own.
Someone is watching over the specimens 24/7 as that specimen is being carried on the plane and through a FedEx delivery.
Dr. Aimee: How secure is the hand-carry option? What if the car flips over, God forbid, or something like that happens?
Ginger: We do put our shipper tanks inside a vault in our trucks, so if there is an accident, your embryos, eggs, and sperm are safe.
Sean: They’re fire-rated vaults, so if the car was to catch in flames, your embryos are still safe within the vault.
Dr. Aimee: Patients ask these questions. What they’ve gone through is very dramatic, so they’re thinking about those worst case scenarios, what if this or what if that, so these are questions that I often get.
Sean: Absolutely.
Ginger: Yes. It’s unlikely it will happen, but if it does, we’re prepared. We understand that there are accidents and potential risks, but we’ve put a lot of processes in place to mitigate some of those risks that may or may not happen. If it does, your specimens are safe.
Dr. Aimee: I want to play this little game with you: “safe or not safe.” I get these wild questions from patients because they’re so curious about the worst case scenarios, and I get it, as to what could happen if there are different natural disasters. Are you ready?
Sean: I’m ready.
Ginger: Yes.
Dr. Aimee: Are my embryos going to be safe or not safe if there is a flood?
Sean: Safe at CryoFuture because we are strategically located in a non-flood zone, highly elevated in the San Mateo Bay area, so you’re safe.
Dr. Aimee: Okay. Fire?
Sean: Safe, because our tanks are inside a vault with fire resistance over sprinklers and we have fire stations nearby within a five-minute distance to help protect us against fire.
Dr. Aimee: Earthquake?
Sean: Safe. The tanks are stored in a vault and it’s retrofitted to make sure that if any of the debris from the ceilings or the walls cave in, the vault will protect the tanks from being destroyed during the earthquake.
Dr. Aimee: Some really weird Ocean’s 11 theft, like someone is going to come in and steal my embryos, safe or not safe?
Sean: Safe. I challenge Mission Impossible to break into our safe.
Ginger: We’re harder to get into than The Pentagon. There’s five-point access security points that you have to badge in, key, biometrics. There’s no way anyone can come break in here, not even Spiderman.
Dr. Aimee: I love that. How about an atomic bomb?
Sean: Safe. We might not be safe, we might not be alive, but your embryos will be alive in the tank.
Dr. Aimee: If a patient of mine wants to work with you, how does she start?
Ginger: Any patient or clinic can talk to CryoFuture, send us a message with the patient’s information and date of birth, and we will communicate directly with the patients and the clinics to get the specimens transferred to CryoFuture in time for the treatment.
Sean: We can coordinate the entire thing, the entire process will be seamless and easy for the patients and the clinics. That’s what we’re here to do. We’re here to make the lives easier for the entire IVF community to support that structure.
Dr. Aimee: Is there anything else that you want to share before we wrap up today’s show?
Ginger: We have all this experience, and just to be able to express it in such a way to communicate across to the patients of how much we understand what this means to them and their families and the clinicians as well, we want to impart the confidence in that we have the experience and the concern and the care.
Sean: Right. I’ve been an embryologist for over a decade, I understand how those embryos are created, the process, being thawed and frozen, the entire process. What we’re trying to do is try to make everything ten times better than what it is or what we used to do at fertility clinics.
Dr. Aimee: Where can people find you online?
Sean: You can find us at CryoFuture.co. We have an Instagram handle, @CryoFutureInc. You can also find us on LinkedIn as well.
Dr. Aimee: Thanks, guys. You guys are awesome. Thanks for sharing about your passion. Thank you for making the experience so lovely for my patients who even need their embryos on-site with the snap of a finger, you guys make it happen seamlessly, and you make us feel so loved. Thank you.
Ginger: Thank you.
Sean: Thank you for having us.
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