The University Medical School announced yesterday that it will temporarily stop acquiring or using live animals for medical education pending a review by a special committee.
The Medical School also suspended the Life Saving Techniques Lab that uses the animal models for the duration of the review.
The announcement came after the Citizens for Humane Medicine attracted attention last week by questioning the Medical School's use of animals in its medical classes, and it is designed to resolve the questions which have been raised, Medical School Dean Arthur Garson Jr. said.
"I have been speaking with a lot of students, and while this is clearly an important issue to all of us, we need to resolve it so the students can get back to learning how to be doctors," Garson said.
The committee will consist of representatives from the Medical School's animal use committee, faculty educators, medical students and medical residents, and will present its findings to Garson by March 1. The Medical School's animal use committee already annually reviews animal use across the entire Medical School.
"The first question is, what are the curriculum objectives that students should know, have to know, ought to know; and the second question is, what's the best way to reach those objectives?" said David Hudson, associate vice president for research and graduate studies. "This is a review of both those questions."
Citizens for Humane Medicine applauded the Medical School's decision, according to group co-founder Rooshin Dalal.
"We are happy to work with them to implement alternatives to the use of live animals in medical education," Dalal said.
In response to the news, the group canceled a candlelight vigil planned for Feb. 16, the next date the Life Saving Techniques Lab would have met.
Dalal said Citizens for Humane Medicine will still hold a meeting Feb. 10 in the Albemarle County Building to present the group's case against the use of live animals and in support of alternative teaching methods in University medical classes.
According to Garson, the Life Saving Techniques Lab is an elective in the Medical School. Medical students are given the option of taking the course once a year as part of a surgery rotation.
Garson said the committee could make any number of recommendations, which could include eliminating the class entirely, using techniques other than live animals to teach students or making no changes at all.
"Whatever the recommendation is, it will be reached by a very objective group of unbiased people who are trying to weigh the education versus the use of animals," Garson said.
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