Presentation
Currently, despite the development of alternatives to animal experiments, these are still necessary in research centres that wish to be at the forefront of research.
Laboratory animals are used by IDIBELL researchers at two locations: The Bellvitge Animal Facility (located on the University of Barcelona campus and specialising in large animals), and the SE-IRO (IRO Animal Facility) located on the third floor of Duran and Reynals Hospital and focusing on the housing and care of small rodents in SPF conditions (basically immunodepressed and genetically modified)
Compliance with current regulations and accreditations
Regulations of the autonomous government of Catalonia
In 1998, in accordance with Act 5/1995 of 21st June 1995 on the protection of animals used in experiments and for other scientific ends and with the decree established from it (Decree 214/97 of 30th July 1997, which regulates the use of animals for experiments and other scientific ends), the IRO Animal Facility was accredited as a Centre for the Use of Animals for Experiments (B9900010)
For this reason, since 1998 IRO has also had an Ethics Committee for Animal Experiments (CEEA-IRO) that supervises and evaluates all the research methods that involve the use of animal experiments.
Spanish government regulations
In 2005 the Spanish government published Royal Decree 1201/2005 of 10th October 2005 on the protection of animals used for experiments and other scientific ends. The IRO Animal Facility complies with all the requirements of this act.
Housing of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms).
In accordance with Royal Decree 178/2004, Regulations for the confined use, deliberate release and marketing of GMOs, in 2005 the Environment Minister was informed of the housing of genetically modified organisms, defining the IRO Animal Facility as a class 2 installation.
International accreditation
On 16th February 2006 the IRO Animal Facility obtained full accreditation from AAALAC (UNIT 1155) (www.aaalac.org) (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care international). AAALAC is an international quality system which accredits centres that perform animal research.
The IRO Animal Facility, covering an area of 500m2, only houses mice, grouped together in two different types: genetically modified and immunodepressed. In both cases the animals are housed in cages with filters (in cupboards or on ventilated racks) that correspond with the conditions for care relating to their characteristics with the aim of avoiding any possible contamination that could affect them.
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