Animal House Facility

The Animal Experimentation Unit (UEA), located at Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Hospital, is part of the In Vivo Experimentation and Research Committee Support Unit (UEIV-SCR) of the Scientific and Technical Centre of the University of Barcelona (CitecUB). It is located on the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital campus, within the Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona (PCCB), and provides support for research and teaching activities involving the use of animals, carried out by researchers from the Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD) and the University of Barcelona (UB).

The UEA has a surface area of 427 m². Its facilities have been designed and built in accordance with the guidelines established by the regulations governing the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. The unit is registered with the Government of Catalonia as an authorized user establishment under registration number B9900063.

The UEA facilities are authorized by the National Biosafety Commission (CNB) to carry out activities involving the contained use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) classified as biosafety level 1 (GMO-I): A/ES/25/I-27.

Facilities and equipment

The Unit comprises three distinct areas, all of which have controlled ventilation, temperature, humidity and light/dark cycles:

Conventional Area

This area comprises four rooms for housing immunocompetent small rodents and two rooms for housing lagomorphs. It also includes three laboratories equipped with inhalation anesthesia systems and a dedicated laboratory fitted with a suitable cabinet for working with paraformaldehyde.

SPF Area

This area comprises two housing rooms for immunocompromised mice and two laboratories equipped with biosafety cabinets and inhalation anesthesia systems. One of the laboratories is equipped with a non-invasive imaging system (IVIS).

Large Animal Area

This area comprises an enclosure adapted for housing sheep and pigs, an operating theatre, and a monitoring room/laboratory.

Overall, the facility is equipped with all the essential services and equipment required to carry out research activities, including surgical tables, operating lights, gas supplies, anesthesia equipment, balances, a centrifuge, a -20°C freezer, a 4°C refrigerator, an autoclave, shakers and IT support.

Services

• Supply and maintenance of laboratory animals.
• Ensuring appropriate animal care and monitoring animal welfare and health status.
• Providing advice and technical support to users.
• Ensuring compliance with all applicable ethical and legal requirements established under:
  • Royal Decree 53/2013 of 1 February, establishing the basic standards for the protection of animals used in experiments and other scientific purposes, including teaching.
  • Order ECC/566/2015 of 20 March, establishing the training requirements for personnel who handle animals bred, kept or supplied for experimental and other scientific purposes, including teaching.
• Assessment of experimental procedures through the University of Barcelona's Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee (CEEA).