Choosing a biospecimen storage provider is not a decision most organisations make often. But when samples are lost to a freezer failure, a compliance gap, or a chain-of-custody breakdown, the consequences are significant: delayed studies, regulatory headaches, and irreplaceable material gone. The right provider should make you confident that your samples are in exactly the same condition when you retrieve them as the day they arrived.
Whether you are storing clinical trial samples, biological specimens, critical reagents, or investigational medicinal products, these are the criteria that matter.
This is non-negotiable. Any legitimate biospecimen storage facility in the UK should hold, at minimum:
Facilities may also hold additional quality certifications such as GCLP (Good Clinical Laboratory Practice), CAP accreditation (College of American Pathologists), and UKAS ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation. See the full list of hVIVO's laboratory and storage accreditations here.
Not all samples require the same conditions. A credible provider should offer multiple temperature options including ambient and controlled room temperature, refrigerated conditions (+2°C to +8°C), ultra-low temperature (-80°C), and long-term cryogenic storage in liquid nitrogen (LN2). Ask specifically about validated temperature ranges, alarm thresholds, and what protocols are triggered if a unit drifts out of range.
Sample loss through power failure is avoidable: but only if the facility has invested in the right infrastructure. A reliable provider should offer continuous, automated temperature monitoring with alarm systems that alert staff at any time of day or night, and an uninterrupted backup power supply (typically on-site generators) that keeps freezers running during a power outage.
hVIVO's Greenwich cryostorage facility has backup power supply for uninterrupted sample security alongside 24/7 monitored storage: so your samples are protected even when no one is in the building.
For clinical and regulatory purposes, you need to be able to demonstrate exactly where a sample has been at every stage of its lifecycle: from collection, through processing, to storage, retrieval and distribution. Providers should maintain robust sample tracking and chain-of-custody documentation covering every sample movement, with documentation that supports audit and regulatory review.
hVIVO's labs provide full chain-of-custody documentation and inventory tracking, including the ability to retrieve and ship individual vials or plates on demand.
If you are storing human tissue, cells, or biospecimens, the facility must operate under an HTA licence. hVIVO is accredited by the Human Tissue Authority, and can also provide HTA Designated Individual (DI) coverage for study collections where your organisation does not hold its own licence. Read more about storing human biological samples.
Organisations working with pathogenic organisms, viral material, or biosafety level 3 agents need a facility that is approved for the appropriate containment level. This is a specialist capability: not every provider can offer it. hVIVO's Greenwich facility is approved for BSL-3 pathogen storage, and the adjacent CL3 laboratories are able to thaw and manipulate these materials where required.
If you need more than storage: aliquoting, labelling, PBMC isolation, sample processing, or kit preparation: it is significantly more efficient to use a provider that can handle all of these in the same facility. Moving samples between sites introduces handling risk and extends timelines. hVIVO's PBMC processing and isolation and clinical trial kit production services sit alongside our cryostorage capability, giving you a genuinely integrated solution.
For teams that need to access samples regularly: adding to a collection, retrieving for analysis, or shipping onward: location matters. A storage facility that is geographically accessible reduces transport time and cold chain risk. hVIVO's cryostorage facility is located in Greenwich, London, pick-up services available within easy reach of the Oxford, Cambridge, and London corridor.
hVIVO provides secure cryostorage and biobanking services from our Greenwich facility, with full integration into laboratory and clinical operations. Get in touch to discuss your needs.