Asthma + Lung UK will only consider funding research involving animals and embryos if all other possibilities have been carefully and fully considered, the research is not an unnecessary duplication of previous work, and it is likely to lead to essential information that could otherwise not be achieved by alternative methods.
Research involving the use of animals
Through research, we have made major advances in medical understanding and some of this research has involved the use of animals.
Asthma + Lung UK supports the Home Office's commitment to the '3Rs'. This commitment will refine experimental techniques and procedures, reduce the number of animals involved in research and replace animals in research wherever possible.
Each research project application must provide justification for the use of animals. All applications are then carefully screened and reviewed by Asthma + Lung UK's Research Review Panel of scientific and medical experts and is also peer-reviewed by other international experts to assess the suitability of the proposed use of animals.
The research project must meet Asthma + Lung UK's strict criteria, including how it will help us to learn more about respiratory conditions, move us towards benefots for patients and adhere to the Home Office's guidelines for the welfare of the animals.
Asthma + Lung UK is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) and we adhere to their guidelines on medical research involving animals, and endorse their position on the use of animals in research.
You can find out more about the use of animals in research in the following resources:
Use of embryos in research
We do not currently fund any projects that require human or hybrid human embryos.
As a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities, we support of the use of human embryos and the creation of hybrid human embryos when the research has the potential to make significant medical advances.
Stem cells
Stem cells are unspecialised cells. They have the potential to become any type of cell within the human body. By using stem cells as part of research, we can learn about how conditions develop because they enable us to study how cells mature from the very early stages.
Under strict regulations, human embryos may be created and maintained outside the body for no longer than 14 days to provide a source of stem cells.
Human hybrid embryos
In certain circumstances, the shells of animal eggs may be used to house human DNA taken from patients to produce hybrid human embryos.
How could they benefit research?
Human embryos or human hybrid embryos could be used to understand how the cells of the airways develop or how lung conditions develop. Alternatively, the stem cells might be used as a source of new airway tissue for people with respiratory conditions.
Asthma + Lung UK has not excluded the possibility of providing funding for this research area in the future but such research would take into consideration the views of people with respiratory conditions, healthcare professionals and researchers on this sensitive issue. Should the circumstances arise and Asthma + Lung UK were to agree to fund this research, proposed work would have to comply with the very strict legal requirements as outlined by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (1990) following approval by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.