Monash statement on media reports about greyhounds in research
The researchers named in the publication do not have funding from Monash. The research was funded through the Alfred Hospital.
This research was undertaken three years ago and preceded recent events in NSW in relation to the Greyhound industry. Monash has not used dogs in medical research for over 12 months.
The research was approved by an independent ethics committee at The Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct with representatives from animal welfare organisations on strict conditions: any discomfort to the animals would be absolutely minimal, there were no other existing research alternatives, and the research was critically important.
The Humane Research Australia (HRA) report is either unintentionally inaccurate due to not understanding the details of the published manuscript or intentionally misleading. HRA incorrectly imply the procedure was performed on one animal. In reality there were two animals, a donor and a recipient as in the human transplant scenario.
Importantly, at no time were the animals subject to pain, they were under deep anaesthetic and unconscious for the entire procedure. The animals were at no stage woken up. The research has had a very valuable impact on heart transplant technology.
Monash understands that the outcomes of this research will have a valuable influence on the 100 Australians - and thousands of people in the world – currently facing life-saving surgery. Tragically, around 20 per cent of patients on the waiting list for heart transplants die.