Prof. Dr. Kurt Reifenberg

© dkfz.de

The scientific reason for using animals in biomedical research is that a living organism provides the optimal system that can be observed and manipulated experimentally, thus allowing investigation of normal mechanisms and disease. Virtually every major medical advance has depended on the use of animals at some stage in the research, development or testing, such as antibiotics, surgical procedures and vaccines etc.

There are of course many other diseases and forms of cancer of which as yet there is no effective cure. The main research subject here in the DKFZ is cancer, its development, therapy and subsequent cure.

Various methods are used to obtain information that can be applied to human disease such as cell culture techniques and computer simulation techniques, they help researchers to establish test models and analyse data; but alone cannot produce biological information; hence animal systems are essential to verify the data produced by such models. The importance of animals in research within the DKFZ is reflected in the high majority of research groups that use animals or animal products.

The Animal Laboratory Services Core Facility of the DKFZ provides a service for research groups using animals or animal tissue. These animals are maintained to a high standard and in compliance with German and European statutes. Individual Experimental Projects are monitored by the Animal Protection Welfare Officers and Veterinarian Surgeons, ensuring the ultimate care and welfare of the animals. The scientific and technical expertise that is available, in the form of Animal Care-Takers, Laboratory Technicians, Technical Engineers and Scientists ensures that all procedures are performed appropriately and to a very high standard. In addition, training programs for personnel wanting to work with animals are obligatory. At present, the main species used for experimental purposes is the mouse; and to a lesser extent rats, guinea pigs, mastomys and amphibians. All of the animals used for experimental procedures are either bred in-house or by reputable companies.