Animal Facilities

Research and teaching related to the use of laboratory animals is focused on the animal house of the Institut de Recerca de l'Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron. Located at Edifici Mediterrānia, it occupies a built area of 745 m2 and a useful area 683 m2 in a single floor. Animal house obey the legislation in force and it is registered at the Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge with register number B9900062.

Facilities are divided in two areas: Rodent Area with an standard clean area, a passive quarantine, a barrier area to accommodate immunodeficient mice, 6 manipulation rooms and the Molecular Imaging Platform; as well as the Big Animals Area with space enough to accommodate rabbits, pigs and sheep with complete experimental operating rooms to carry out teaching and experimental surgery projects.

This animal house has a Committee composed by different researchers of the Institut who advice in scientific issues related with the animal house. 

The animal house objectives are:

- Providing accommodation for experimental animals maintenance, care and welfare.

- Periodic health control to maintain the animals in proper health and then obtain reproducible and reliable results.

- Satisfying user needs by giving them the advice and the equipment to carry out the investigation with experimental animals.

- Ensuring compliance with all legal and ethical standards related with animal used for experimentation and other scientific purposes.