ACTION ALERT:
Contact:
Dr. Elizabeth GoldentyerNationwide Children's Named In Complaint Over Animal Research
From Steve Brown,
Radio.WOSU.org, May 30, 2019
An animal rights group is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to
levy a fine of at least $10,000 against Nationwide Children's Hospital over
botched research on a pig.
Researchers were performing surgeries on pigs as part of project funded by
the National Institutes of Health to develop an engineered gut tissue to
treat an ailment in human infants.
An April 1 letter from Dr. Dennis Durban, Nationwide's Chief Scientific
Officer, to the National Institutes of Health says during a February 28
procedure, a researcher broke surgery protocol.
"To prevent stricture of the gut, a bypass loop was created in the
intestine. This is a significant deviation from the approved protocol. The
animal was euthanized on March 3, 2019 as it met humane endpoints defined in
the (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) protocol. Necropsy
revealed leakage from the gut surgical site," Durbin wrote.
The letter goes on to say “At the request of the IACUC, the PI barred the
researcher from further work with animals pending resolution of the IACUC
investigation and the development of a remedial plan for the researcher."
A hospital spokesperson says the National Institutes of Health accepted the
hospital's remedial plan for the researcher, which included completion of
training courses on research integrity, three months of supervised work, and
the promise to notify NIH of future serious violations of research protocol.
In a complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Michael Budkie with
the group Stop Animal Exploitation Now, or SAEN, wrote “The death of this
pig was entirely unnecessary and the leakage of the surgical site clearly
demonstrates the truly flawed nature of the botched procedure. It is also
clear that the leakage from the surgical site led to the decision to
euthanize."
The complaint calls for fines of $10,000 per infraction against Nationwide
Children's under the Animal Welfare Act.
A Nationwide Children's spokeswoman confirmed the letter was written by Dr.
Dennis Durban and said the hospital self-reported the incident, but declined
further comment.