From a matter of practicality, yes. Hypothetically one could centrifuge in 15-ml tubes for frozen semen, but (a) you would need a lot more tubes and with some stallions you might not be able to centrifuge the entire ejaculate at one go because of the volume leading to sperm damage during the delay (e.g. if you have 12 tube places on the carrier, if filled full that would = 180-ml, so if you had 120-ml of raw ejaculate x 2 for extender, you would have a total volume to centrifuge of 240-ml); (b) the more you handle the semen, the more damage you are going to get to the sperm, and centrifuging in 15-ml tubes is going to result in more handling as it will be more difficult to resuspend; and finally (c) if you have a high initial volume, but low sperm count, you will run into problems resuspending with an adequate amount of freezing extender.
So... although if all the moons and stars lined up correctly you might get away with it, in the big scheme of things, you need a 50-ml centrifuge to be consistently effective.
Please note that opinions, product information, advice or suggestions posted on this bulletin board are not necessarily those of the management at Equine-Reproduction.com nor does the maintenance of the post position indicate an implicit or any endorsement of that information, opinion or product.
Further, although we have the greatest respect for the posters offering assistance here, you are advised to seek a consultation with your veterinarian prior to using information obtained from this board if it is of a veterinary nature.Proud to be sponsored and supported by:
