When a pet passes away, the emptiness it leaves behind cannot be expressed in words. Only those who have experienced it know the deep pain felt after the departure of your best friend. It is at this very moment that the viable option –increasingly common– of choosing the path of cloning arises. All in order to once again have your loyal and inseparable companion by your side. Thanks to scientific advances, it is now possible to have a puppy practically identical to your pet, with a 99.99% genetic match.
This means that facial features, skeletal structure, body size, breed characteristics, inherent intelligence, innate personality and gender, all determined by genes, are identical. In this article, we will explain how Ovoclone makes cloning a reality and how you should proceed if your pet has passed away and you wish to carry out the cloning.
What should I do if my pet passes away?
If your pet passes away and your wish is to clone your loyal best friend, the first step you should take is to contact the professionals at Ovoclone so they can advise you on what to do at each stage. However, the ideal is to keep the animal’s body (or the sample) at fridge temperature, that is, between 2°C and 8°C. But NEVER freeze it, as it will be practically impossible to carry out the cloning once the cells enter a frozen state.
The most effective step, therefore, would be to ask your veterinarian to keep the body in the fridge and to speak with the Ovoclone team as soon as possible.
Which part of the body do I need to preserve?
In the event of death, Ovoclone specialists will need samples taken from the ear, and additionally from the neck, rump near the tail, and hairs with root. In case of death, the chances of success decrease with every passing hour; therefore, keep samples from these areas in the fridge, as clean as possible. Ovoclone specialists will provide you with further instructions for their preservation and shipment.
In all cases, we request hair from the original animal, but the hair CANNOT be used to obtain the animal’s cell line, since the cells we need are living cells taken from epithelial tissue without causing damage.
How long after death can cloning be performed?
At most, the samples from the animal’s body can take between 4 and 5 days to reach the laboratory. Once this period has passed, the chances of obtaining viable cells to carry out the cloning are practically nil. Therefore, time is limited, and every hour will determine whether the cloning of the pet will be viable or not.
For this reason, Ovoclone recommends preserving the animal’s cell line while it is still alive. In this way, the client will be able to choose when to carry out the cloning process without the pressure of having to decide in less than 5 days.
What happens if more than 5 days have passed?
If the animal’s sample arrives at the Ovoclone laboratory after the fifth day following its death, the chances of obtaining cells to carry out the cloning are very low.
For this reason, we do not accept samples more than 5 days post-mortem, as the chances of obtaining viable cells are practically nil. If you are at the time limit, please contact our team to evaluate your case.
Every minute after the pet’s death is decisive for the survival of the cells. Acting and deciding quickly is crucial.