One of the reasons for failure of cartilage allografts is the impaired condition of the transplant during storage. In this paper we describe methods for the isolation and culture of viable chondrocytes obtained from nasal septum cartilage. Furthermore, we evaluate the possibility of growing such specific chondrocytes under culture conditions and storing them in a frozen state. Age dependent differences were observed in the growth rate of the cultured cells. Our results confirm that chondrocytes survive freezing and remain able to proliferate. Knowledge gained from this study may be applied to the culture and freezing of viable intact cartilage for use in reconstructive surgery in otolaryngology.