The Importance of Good Cell Culture Practice (GCCP)

M Balls¹, S Coecke¹, G Bowe¹, J Davis¹, G Gstraunthaler¹, T Hartung¹, R Hay¹, O-W Merten², A Price¹, LM Schechtman², G Stacey¹, WS Stokes²

1. ECVAM, Institute for Health & Consumer Protection, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
2. ICCVAM-NICEATM, RTP, USA

The maintenance of high standards is fundamental to all good scientific practice, and is essential for maximising the reproducibility, reliability, credibility, acceptance and proper application of any results produced. Following the publication of outline guidelines for Good Cell Culture Practice (GCCP) after the 3rd World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences (Bologna, Italy, 1999), a new task force was convened by ECVAM, with a broader range of expertise in cell and tissue culture, in order to produce an updated and more-detailed GCCP guidance document for practical use in the laboratory.

This GCCP Guidance, which will have been published in ATLA and made available elsewhere before the Berlin Congress, is based on the following six operational principles:

1. Establishment and maintenance of a sufficient understanding of the in vitro system and of the relevant factors which could affect it.
   
2. Assurance of the quality of all materials and methods, and of their use and application, in order to maintain the integrity, validity, and reproducibility of any work conducted.
   
3. Documentation of the information necessary to track the materials and methods used, to permit the repetition of the work, and to enable the target audience to understand and evaluate the work.
   
4. Establishment and maintenance of adequate measures to protect individuals and the environment from any potential hazards.
   
5. Compliance with relevant laws and regulations, and with ethical principles.
   
6. Provision of relevant and adequate education and training for all personnel, to promote high quality work and safety.
   
   

Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2005, 14.00Ð16.00 h, Estrel Hall C5/C6

5.7 Session: Progress in Quality Assurance for In Vitro Alternative Studies