Hi Robin,
Thanks for this info.
We were already aware of the potential for sperm preservation (there is much debate as to the viability of embryos after cold storage) and are investigating it. The problem is that there is still a significant cost associated with the continued storage of the sperm, so we're investigating how that could be covered (and the time period over which retention might be considered necessary).
We are also investigating the possibility of live archiving of the mice at the MRC facility at Harwell, who operate on a cost-recovery basis, charging future users for access to the mouse lines.
Finally, we have recommended your second point, so the academic will be contacting co-authors on the relevant papers to see if they will take on the mice (and in doing so, meet the reagent-availability requirements of their publications).
Best wishes,
Mary
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