Another medical school eliminates live animal labs

The Medical College of Virginia in Richmond has agreed not to use live animal laboratories in its medical school curriculum.

The school joins the ranks of such prestigious medical institutions as Harvard, Stanford and Yale that now use state-of-the-art alternatives, including interactive CD-ROMS and videos, life-like simulators and clinical practicums.

Numerous health care organizations, have long argued that these alternatives offer many benefits over live animal laboratories.

At Harvard Medical School, for example, students can observe an actual human heart bypass operation as they learn to monitor circulation and the use of cardiovascular drugs. This method exposes students to human physiology and pharmacology in action.

Interactive computer programs and simulators allow students to repeat procedures until they are mastered, at virtually no additional costs. The one-time cost of operating a live animal laboratory, where students observe the effects of various drugs on an animal that is ultimately killed, can reach $6,000.

"The best schools are doing away with crude and obsolete animal laboratories and replacing them with more exciting and humane teaching methods," said Neal D. Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.