Research overview: gonadal tissue cryopreservation in felids

Preserving ovarian and testicular tissue offers a way to bank the gametes of immature or recently deceased felids whose mature sperm or eggs cannot be collected directly. This overview surveys research on cryopreserving gonadal tissue from cats, the structures and immature germ cells preserved, and approaches to recovering viable gametes from thawed tissue through culture or grafting. It reviews the potential to rescue genetics from animals that die unexpectedly or before reproductive maturity. The review connects gonadal tissue banking to the broader genome resource banking effort and to experimental methods such as xenografting. Understanding gonadal tissue cryopreservation expands the reach of felid biobanking to individuals and life stages that conventional gamete collection cannot capture.