Part III – Can you still preserve tissue and cloned animals after the death event?

Part III – Can you still preserve tissue and cloned animals after the death event?
By Diane Broek

Yes, you can still preserve living tissue for several days after the death event.  It is imperative to get the tissue collected ASAP after the death event, to refrigerate it, and to send it into our lab within 24 – 48 hours after the death event.  So let’s talk about a possible scenario, and what you can do.  Let’s say you walk out in the morning to do chores and find your prize cow, bull, steer, boar, sow, barrow, buck, doe, wether, ram or ewe dead in the pen.  You have no idea what happened and are shocked to find him or her.  Fortunately, Genetic Preservation and Cloning are two things you can do after the death event providing you act quickly.  Here are the steps to follow:

1. The first step is to remove about 2/3 of the ear using sterile scissors or forceps.  Place this in a labeled Ziploc bag which needs to go into the refrigerator.
2. Pull tail hair, making sure to include the root bulbs, and place it into a labeled second Ziploc bag.  Do this with gloves on or do not touch the hair.
3. Call Trans Ova Genetics and ask for your CSR representative, or call Diane Broek at 712-441-3193 and they will talk you through the shipping process.
4. You will need to obtain a Styrofoam or insulated shipping container, and a frozen ice pack.  The Styrofoam container will need to be placed into a cardboard outer container.
5. Wrap the frozen ice pack several times with paper towels and place it into the cooler.
6. Then place the refrigerated ear onto the wrapped ice pack.  The objective is to keep the ear cool, but not frozen.  Fill the container with packing material or newspapers.
7. After you enclose the Styrofoam container, place the tail hair and a completed biopsy form on the top of the Styrofoam container, before you close the cardboard container and secure it with tape.
8. The biopsy or order form will be made for you by a TOG representative OR you can find one on the TOG website at www.transova.com.  The information we need is your contact information including address, email, and phone number as well as the animal’s name and reg. number, as well as date and time of death.  Be sure to mark which service you desire – Express Tissue Bank or Genetic Preservation.  
9. You will need to bring the package to a UPS or FED EX shipping center, and ship it overnight priority to arrive in the morning.  If you are shipping on Friday, you will also need to make sure it is marked for Saturday a.m. delivery.
10. Please take a photo of the shipping label including the tracking number and text it to 712-441-3193 Diane Broek so we can track it if it does not arrive on time.
11. Ship the box to:
    • Trans Ova Genetics GAC
    • 3843 US Hwy 75 Ave
    • Hull, Iowa 51239
    • Attn.  Shelby or Brenna
    • 712-441-3193 
    • Make sure you have called in to give the lab a heads up that a sample is coming.  
12. A contract and payment are required at the time of service, a TOG representative will send these items to you when you call in.  They can be included in the shipping container or shipped in via mail or alternatively, a scanned email of the contract can be sent to diane.broek@transova.com and a credit card number called into 712-441-3193.  
13. The fee for a Genetic Preservation is $1600 and an Express Tissue Bank is $500.

So are we able to successfully clone from a dead animal?  Yes, providing that the tissue is processed as soon as possible, and sent into us the same day or the next day if the animal dies late in the day.  For more questions about Trans Ova Genetics Livestock Cloning please refer to our website at transova.com or simply call 1-800-999-3586 or 712-441-3193.  We would love to talk to you about making the irreplaceable…replaceable.

Check out Part I and Part II for more information.