3Rs Centre Utrecht starts campaign to stop the use of Fetal Calf Serum

The 3Rs Centre Utrecht will launch a campaign on social media, aimed at researchers who work with Fetal Calf Serum (FCS). ‘With this campaign, we hope to call into question a few of the assumptions we have around the use of FCS', says Jeffrey Bajramovic, the Centre’s director. 

The 3Rs Centre Utrecht (3RCU) aims to promote and develop so-called non-animal or new approach methods (NAMs). ‘Many NAMs are based on cell culture methods which have in common that animal-derived products, such as fetal calf serum (FCS), are often used in their protocols', says Bajramovic. ‘However, the use of FCS is accompanied by major ethical and scientific concerns. We will be specifically addressing the scientific concerns in seven weekly posts containing a new argument every week on social media.’  

‘By doing so, we hope to stimulate discussion about this among researchers, and to make them consider altering their behavior. Good alternatives for FCS have become available over the last years, and these are worthwhile testing for your application.’  

The 3RCU also has a working group on FCS replacement. For more information, send an email to Jeffrey Bajramovic: j.j.bajramovic@uu.nl. 

If you want to read more about the objections to using FCS, read the full article.