Dubai,a short drive from the bench.

We do not yet keep a laboratory in Dubai, and we are careful not to suggest otherwise. What we do have is a short, well-practised route: a biopsy taken in Dubai travels in transport medium to our laboratory in Abu Dhabi and is placed in culture on arrival. A skin sample does not need to be frozen to travel – only kept cool, in the chilled medium we provide.

Collection itself happens in one of two ways. Most owners prefer a partner veterinary clinic in Dubai, where a vet experienced in the procedure takes a small skin sample under local anaesthetic, in a quiet room, in a few minutes. Owners of nervous cats, elderly dogs, or animals who travel badly can instead arrange a home visit: a veterinarian comes to you with a sealed collection kit, and the sample travels in transport medium to the laboratory and is placed in culture on arrival. The clinics are independent practices we work with, chosen for care and consistency.

Dubai's racing and equestrian community has particular needs, and our mobile laboratory – the same vehicle that serves Abu Dhabi's stables and farms – can be arranged to visit Dubai's racing yards directly, for camels, horses, and working dogs whose owners would rather not bring them to a clinic. This is arranged individually; speak with us about timing and access.

At the Abu Dhabi laboratory, the sample is logged, cultured, and watched for about three weeks until the cell line is established and tested. Once it passes quality checks, it is split: half stays in Abu Dhabi's primary vault, and half is shipped to our Bahrain mirror, about 450 km further on. From that point the line exists in two places, and no single event – a power failure, a storm, an accident – can end it.

A banked line from a Dubai client can later be used for genetic testing, for the preparation of a regenerative therapy your own veterinarian prescribes, or for cloning – cats from $65,000, dogs from $85,000, camels from $100,000, and horses by consultation. Many owners bank and never use the line for anything beyond that; it is a decision you can leave open.

Clients across the region move between us as their own travel allows. We also serve Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Sharjah, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, California, the United States and Japan. Wherever you are collected, the line is cultured once and mirrored in two cities before it is considered banked.