Character, distribution and biological implications of ice crystallization in cryopreserved rabbit ovarian tissue revealed by cryo-scanning electron microscopy.

Background: Ovarian tissue banking is an emerging strategy for fertility preservation which has led to several viable pregnancies after transplantation. However, the standard method of slow cooling was never rigorously optimized for human tissue nor has the extent and location of ice crystals in tissue been investigated. To address this, we used cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) to study ice formation in cryopreserved ovarian tissue.