This dataset contains the data from a study on Jurkat cells, an immortalized line of human T lymphocyte cells, used as an investigative system of relevance to cryopreservation and regenerative medicine. The physical events occurring in Jurkat cells samples during conventional cryopreservation were measured. A simple binary system comprising a cryoprotectant solution and protein at different concentrations was also used to model elements of an intracellular compartment during cryopreservation, to better understand the basic physics of the physical events observed in cell samples. This data was put in perspective to viable cell counts and cellular, metabolic activity, to link physical events and biological outcomes for optimising equilibrium-freezing protocols