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Summary. A commercially produced domiciliary fetal monitoring (DFM) system was assessed in four centres in the UK (Bristol, Glasgow, London and Nottingham) chosen to allow for comprehensive assessment in various settings in many different women. Overall, 825 recordings were made from 368 women (2·24 per woman). There were 56 unsuccessful attempts at transmission (6·8%), most were due to problems with telephone equipment. The system worked most efficiently when a dedicated direct line was used. The data transmission time varied between 40 and 60 s. The median telephone time (including data transmission and conversation) with a dedicated direct line was 7min. Mean acceptance times from the four centres were between 70 and 80%. All recordings with acceptance times of 40% or more were interpretable. Ten recordings were abnormal. The women and midwives were equally proficient at using the DFM system. The DFM system represents an important addition to current methods of fetal assessment. Specific guidelines are outlined.

There are multiple clinical situations where cryopreservation of sperm is required including sperm banking prior to chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer, donor sperm for couples without a male partner, and various etiologies of male factor infertility. Bunge and Sherman presented the first pregnancy resulting from the thawing of cryopreserved sperm in 1953 (Bunge RJ, Nature 172:767-768, 1953). Since that time, cryopreservation techniques have continued to improve. Here, we describe protocols for the cryopreservation and thawing of semen and testicular tissues using a simple liquid nitrogen vapor technique.

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