I am the lab manager at IVF-SAAR. We are a private fertility clinic located in Saarbrücken. We perform about 900 egg retrievals and 450 cryo cycles. And we have been a customer of Consarctic for a very, very long time. That means I’ve been the lab manager here since 1997, almost 30 years. And I've been working together with Consarctic for just as long.

How the collaboration started, or especially how it deepened, was that we used to freeze pronuclear stages using the Planner. I know probably hardly anyone remembers that device anymore—a machine that was relatively loud and quite prone to breakdowns, so very sensitive. We were looking for a device with which we could freeze pronuclear stages, as well as sperm and testicular biopsies. The device that Consarctic offered was very small, made no noise at all, and was therefore ideal for the laboratory. You could use any type of carrier medium—straws, goblets, everything possible. For that reason, we went with Consarctic. We used that device for a very long time until vitrification came along, which basically replaced slow freezing and therefore gradually replaced that device as well. The device was very small, very quiet, and used very little nitrogen for freezing, and it could freeze all types of cells—whereas the Planner was very loud, consumed a lot of nitrogen, and was very disruptive.

Additionally, the more freezing you do—especially during the time when egg retrievals and cryopreservations were increasing—the more storage space we needed. With Consarctic, we immediately had a partner who could supply and serve us with cryo tanks. That made it a very nice symbiosis, so to speak. Because of that, we have worked together for a very long time up to this day. We’ve never had any problems, which I find very pleasant. With other companies, it’s sometimes problematic: you try to reach someone by phone, no chance; you send an email and nothing happens. That is really completely different with Consarctic. Mr. Been came by in person right at the beginning. You could tell right away: when the boss comes in person just for a single device sale, it shows that the managing director isn’t just interested in the money, but in the customer. Mr. Been is perceived as very, very personable. And it was the exact same with everyone else—we never had any issues. Everything happens very quickly. When I order something, I’ve rarely waited longer than two or three days.

The freezing rates were very good—meaning the thawing and survival rates—so the system was always very reliable, which allowed us to really help our patients because their cells survived. On top of that, we stored them in the tanks from Consarctic, where we never had any problems. Fortunately, and hopefully it stays that way. That provides a huge added value, because we were able to offer cryostorage and cryopreservation to give patients peace of mind. Naturally, the practice also benefits financially from that. Storage is something that is vital to patients so that their cells—their precious material—are preserved safely. We never had any worry that a problem would arise. That is, of course, a huge benefit for the practice, because that is the business of the practice. Anyone who works with a company for almost 30 years and wouldn't recommend them—that would be very surprising, I’d say. I would definitely recommend Consarctic. As I said, we’ve never had any issues with the cryo tanks, and they are simply reliable. We haven't had any problems with the equipment either. Therefore, I wouldn't know any reason why you shouldn't recommend them.