An embryo courier moves frozen embryos from one clinic or storage facility to another while keeping them at cryogenic temperature and under documented custody. With a hand-carry courier like Vessel, a trained person travels with the embryos from door to door, rather than handing them to an airline or parcel network.
What an embryo courier does
Moving frozen embryos is part logistics and part paperwork. A good embryo courier handles both, so intended parents and clinic teams don't have to chase each other. With Vessel, your specialist:
- Coordinates with both clinics on release authorisations, acceptance, documentation and a date that suits both laboratories.
- Collects the sealed dry shipper from the releasing clinic and signs custody into a documented chain.
- Monitors the temperature with a data logger inside the shipper for the whole journey.
- Carries it personally in the aircraft cabin or by road for the entire journey. It is never checked as baggage and never goes through airport X-ray screening.
- Keeps everyone updated at collection, in transit and at handover, so nobody is left wondering where things stand.
- Hands over in person to the receiving clinic or storage facility, then sends written confirmation of delivery to every party.
Hand carry versus shipping by carrier
There are two broad ways to move frozen embryos. Some providers send the dry shipper unaccompanied through a parcel or air cargo network. A hand-carry embryo courier keeps a person with the shipper at every stage. Both use the same kind of equipment; the difference is who is responsible for it while it travels.
| Hand carried by Vessel | Unaccompanied shipping | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is with the shipper | Your dedicated specialist, door to door | Handled by parcel, cargo and airline staff |
| Where it travels | In the aircraft cabin, never checked | In the hold or a cargo network |
| Airport X-ray | Never passes through X-ray screening | Depends on the carrier and route |
| If a flight is delayed | Your specialist stays with the shipper and reroutes | The shipper waits in a depot until the network moves it |
| Temperature | Data logger on every shipment, record shared with you and both clinics | Varies by provider and service level |
| Chain of custody | Signed at every handover by named people | Usually scan-based tracking |
| Who you speak to | One specialist from start to finish | A customer service team |
Unaccompanied shipping can suit routine, short, domestic moves where a delay would be easy to absorb. For embryos that represent years of treatment, a surrogacy journey or an international move, many families and clinics prefer to know that a person is responsible for them the whole way.
What we transport
- Embryos, including vitrified blastocysts and earlier-stage embryos.
- Oocytes (eggs), including your own frozen eggs and donor eggs.
- Sperm, including partner and donor samples.
- Reproductive tissue, such as ovarian or testicular tissue stored for fertility preservation.
Read more in our guide to shipping eggs and sperm.
Where we travel
Vessel Couriers is based in the New York area and serves all 50 US states. Internationally, we regularly plan routes to and from Mexico, Colombia, Georgia, Greece and Spain, and we travel well beyond those corridors. This means genuinely worldwide transport of embryos, eggs and sperm, with every international route planned around the destination's own documentation and import requirements. See international embryo shipping for what's involved.
Our working standards
- A reply to every new enquiry on the same business day.
- One dedicated specialist per journey, from first conversation to final handover.
- Validated liquid nitrogen dry shippers that hold cryogenic temperature for days.
- Temperature monitored on every shipment with a data logger, and the record shared with you and both clinics.
- Signed chain-of-custody documentation at every handover, from clinic release to clinic receipt.
- Transfers managed in line with IATA and FAA requirements and applicable international transport regulations.
- Updates at collection, in transit and at handover.
- No minimums for partner referrals from clinics and agencies.
How to choose an embryo courier
Your clinic may recommend a courier, but in most cases you can choose your own. Whoever you speak to, these questions will tell you a lot:
- Will a person travel with my embryos? Ask whether the shipper is hand carried or sent through a cargo or parcel network.
- Will it be checked as baggage or X-rayed? A hand-carry courier should be able to answer this clearly.
- How long does the dry shipper hold temperature? It should comfortably outlast the journey plus a margin for delays.
- Can I see a temperature record? Ask whether every shipment is monitored with a data logger and whether the record will be shared with you.
- How is custody documented? Look for signed handovers at collection and delivery, not just tracking scans.
- Who will I be talking to? One named contact is easier than a general inbox when timings change.
- What happens if a flight is cancelled? You want a plan, not a promise to "look into it".
- What is included in the quote? Ask which fees are the courier's and which the clinics will charge separately.
We cover these in more depth in questions to ask before you choose an embryo courier.
Frequently asked questions
Is hand-carried embryo transport safe?
Frozen embryos are transported in validated liquid nitrogen dry shippers designed to hold cryogenic temperature for days. Hand carrying adds a person who is responsible for the shipper at every moment, keeps it out of the aircraft hold and away from airport X-ray, and can act straight away if plans change.
Can I choose my own embryo courier?
Usually, yes. Many clinics will work with the courier you choose. Some keep a list of approved couriers; if yours does, we'll provide whatever documentation the clinic needs to approve us.
How quickly can you arrange a transfer?
We reply to new enquiries the same business day. The travel itself is quick to arrange; the timeline usually depends on clinic paperwork, so the sooner both clinics are involved, the sooner we can set a date.
Do I need to be at the clinic on the day?
No. We work directly with the releasing and receiving clinics. You'll receive updates at collection, in transit and when your embryos are handed over.
Do you work with surrogacy agencies and egg or sperm banks?
Yes. We work with intended parents, IVF clinics and embryologists, surrogacy agencies, and egg and sperm banks, domestically and internationally.
