H.E. Chief Executive Officer of Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, President of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Dr. Bandar Al Knawy has launched Research Animal Care Unit at Department of Experimental Medicine, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences – Al Ahsa that has been designed according to the most modern international standards to insure the health of research animals.
The unit includes six day care rooms, three operating, research and training rooms and one room for quarantine to receive the new animals and check its health situation. The unit also includes large lounge for cages cleaning devices and three warehouses to store the sterile food and the sawdust used in cages. This unit will receive 25 rack for rodents, 3600 cages with a capacity of 12,000 to 18,000 mouse and laundry room equipped with the latest advanced equipment. The veterinarians and animal care technicians have been trained in Monash University, Australia for a year. The unit is expected to provide several services for researchers such as veterinary medical service and consulting.
Researchers can request consultation from the veterinary staff in issues related to animal models, experimental design, animal use protocols in medical research, equipment and supplies medicines, surgery and also choosing anesthetics. In case the researcher has no experience in performing surgery or dealing with the animal, he can use the veterinarian to conduct this operation and give him the final results or to train him to conduct such operations.
The unit has a specialized department in animal production and reproduction, with a section to produce genetically modified animals that might not be available in local market or it has very high cost. The unit also has a training section to train the researchers on how to handle animals with mercy and on the specialized procedures for injecting and pulling blood, and on the merciful disposal of animals.