The establishment of human research tissue banking in the UK and several western European countries - The report and recommendations of ECVAM Workshop 44

This is the report of the forty-fourth of a series of workshops organised b y the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM). EC VAM's main goal, as defined in 1993 by its Scientific Advisory Committee, i s to promote the scientific and regulatory acceptance of alternative method s which are of importance to the biosciences and which reduce, refine or re place the use of laboratory animals. One of the first priorities set by ECV AM was the implementation of procedures that would enable it to become well -informed about the state-of-the-art of non-animal test development and val idation, and the potential for the possible incorporation of alternative te sts into regulatory procedures. It was decided that this would be best achi eved by the organisation of ECVAM workshops on specific topics, at which sm all groups of invited experts would review the current status of in vitro t ests and their potential uses, and make recommendations about the best ways forward (1). In addition, other topics relevant to the Three Rs concept of alternatives to animal experiments have been considered in several ECVAM w orkshops. A workshop on the establishment of human research tissue banking in the UK and several western European countries was held at The Belfry, Birmingham. UK, on 8-10 September 2000, under the chairmanship of Robert Anderson (UK H uman Tissue Bank [UK HTB]). There were 22 participants from six western Eur opean countries. The principal aim of the workshop was to explore the feasibility of establi shing research tissue banks (RTBs) in the countries represented, in order t o facilitate programmes of medical and pharmacotoxicological research. This report builds upon the conclusions and recommendations of ECVAM Workshop 3 2 on the availability of human tissue for biomedical research (2) and summa rises discussions and progress made since the publication of that report, t oward the provision of tissue banking services in European countries. A num ber of recommendations are proposed for improving the availability of human material for research through the formation of a European Network of Resea rch Tissue Banks (ENRTB).