When having fertility treatment, timing is everything. This also applies to the shipping and delivery of donor eggs, as these must be in place and ready before you start your treatment.
In other words, you must make sure to place the order in due time and well in advance of your treatment. Before you place your order, we recommend that you read the following information carefully. If you have any questions or concerns regarding shipping and delivery, please reach out to our Customer Care Team.
How do I request delivery of donor eggs?
When you order donor eggs from Cryos online, we will ask you to choose your preferred shipping date before finalizing your order. If you have made a reservation of donor eggs for later use, you must log in to your account and request delivery, as soon as you know when you will need the donor eggs from your reservation.
How soon can you ship my order?
We recommend that you place your order as soon as possible. Your order will be processed when we have received your payment in full.
To ensure safe processes and to maintain the high quality of our donor eggs, we only ship orders to clinics that have been properly trained in handling frozen donor eggs from Cryos. If your clinic is new to Cryos, we will therefore have to get in contact with them, ensure the training and set a suitable delivery date before we can ship your order. This may take a few weeks, depending on your fertility clinic.
To reduce the transit time, we recommend shipping your order Monday to Wednesday.
Expected delivery time of donor eggs
Once the frozen donor eggs have been shipped from Cryos, the expected delivery time of donor eggs depends on whether the order should be delivered in or outside the EU:
- European countries: 1-2 working days (Monday - Friday)
- Rest of the world: 2-5 working days (Monday - Friday)
Please be aware that there are no deliveries on weekends. To reduce transit time, we recommend shipping your order Monday to Wednesday.
The times listed above apply under normal conditions. The delivery time may vary depending on the destination and other conditions. For some destinations outside the EU, customs procedures may delay the delivery. Please ensure that your fertility clinic has the necessary import license to receive your order.
We may charge an additional deposit for the nitrogen tank on deliveries outside Europe (mainly on deliveries to clinics and/or destinations that are “new” to Cryos). The deposit will be repaid to you when the tank has safely returned to Cryos.
See our delivery prices under Prices and payment on donor eggs.
How are the donor eggs shipped?
Once we are ready to ship your order, we place the frozen donor egg straws in a special tank for safe shipment. The tank is cooled to -196°C by the use of liquid nitrogen. It is a dry-shipper tank that will keep the donor eggs frozen for up to 12 days. The tank ensures that the correct temperature is consistent. An internal logging system monitors the tank 24/7 during transport. The nitrogen tank is placed inside a wooden transport box, which will be delivered by a courier company directly to your fertility clinic.
The frozen donor eggs must either be stored in the nitrogen tank until use or moved to another liquid nitrogen tank at your clinic. It is important that the transport tank is not opened before the eggs are about to be used or moved to another tank.
The nitrogen tank must be returned to Cryos after use. Included in the delivery is a shipping label and instructions for how to return the nitrogen tank (read more further below).
Important: Make sure someone is present at the delivery
When your order arrives, it is important that someone is present to sign for the delivery. This means that you must ensure that your fertility clinic or healthcare professional will be available to receive the delivery. Otherwise, the courier may take the package back to the warehouse and leave a note with further information concerning an alternative pick-up location or delivery time.
What is included in the delivery?
In addition to the purchased donor eggs, the transportation box includes the following documents:
- Invoice (for deliveries outside the EU)
- Packing list
- Summary of records (SoR) containing test results and Standard release information about the egg donor
- Safety warning for handling the nitrogen tank (LN2)
- Instructions for return of the nitrogen tank
- Shipping label for return of the nitrogen tank
- Handling instructions
Returning the nitrogen tank – when and how?
At Cryos we have a limited number of nitrogen tanks, as we re-use the ones we have. This means that you or your clinic needs to return the tank once the content has been removed. Since other clients are eagerly awaiting their shipment, we kindly ask you to please make sure to return the tank as soon as possible.
How to return the nitrogen tank
When we ship a nitrogen tank, we will include instructions on how to return it to Cryos. Please follow these instructions. We also include a preprinted return label. When using this return label, the return shipping is prepaid (charges are included in the shipping price).
To return the nitrogen tank, a pick-up must be scheduled with the courier service. This can be done in one of three ways:
- Fill out this online form: “Cryos nitrogen tank return”
- OR schedule the pick-up directly on the courier’s website
- OR call the courier to schedule the pick-up.
Contact information on the courier is enclosed in the shipment.
Please use one of the above-mentioned procedures for returning the nitrogen tank. If you choose an alternative shipping option, it may result in loss of the tank and a potential claim of EUR 1000.
Deadline of tank return
The tank must be returned to Cryos as soon as possible, and no later than the day the durability of the tank has expired. The large nitrogen tank, in which we ship the frozen donor eggs, has a durability of 12 days including the shipping date from Cryos.
This means that the last day for pick up by the courier is the 13th day after the shipping date from Cryos. If day 13 after the shipping date is a weekend or holiday, please ship the nitrogen tank the following weekday.
If the tank is not returned in due time, Cryos will charge EUR 100 (excl. VAT) for tank rental per commenced week, cf. our Terms of Agreement.
For shipments outside the EU, a pro forma invoice for the return will be included, as this is required by the customs authorities.
Terms of Delivery
Cryos offers DAP (Delivered At Place) in accordance with Incoterms 2010. This means door-to-door delivery.
- If the delivery is made outside the EU some local customs formalities may occur that we cannot take responsibility for. This is for example: customs clearance, import clearance, customs duty, the VAT amount, tax etc. it is your own responsibility to examine this and we recommend you to carefully read our Terms of Agreement.
- There are no customs formalities for shipments within the EU.