Legal statements

The following legal statements cover:

• Policy on the use of animals in funded research
• The fundraising promise
• Working with the pharmaceutical industry

Policy on the use of animals in funded research

• Myeloma UK acknowledges that under some circumstances, the use of animals is essential for some types of medical research and believes that the ethical use of animals is appropriate and necessary to further treatment, prevention and cure of myeloma and its complications
• Myeloma UK is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) and follows the AMRC position on the use of animals in medical research. This can be downloaded from here
• All research projects involving the use of animals are licensed by the Home Office and all the researchers and the procedures on which the experiments are performed must be licensed. All these processes are rigorously policed by the Home Office Inspectorate
• From time to time Myeloma UK approves projects involving the use of animals when there is no suitable or practical alternative. Such grants are only awarded when researchers provide convincing arguments that:

1. The research question is of sufficient importance and justifies the use of animals
2. The research question cannot be answered using alternative methods
3. The number of animals is the minimum required to answer that question
4. The appropriate species is chosen
5. The proposed experiment should answer the research question
6. There is absolute adherence at all times to Home Office regulations relating to the husbandry, pain and distress of the animals
7. Experiments will only be performed on premises of the highest standards licensed by the Home Office

We at Myeloma UK appreciate that some people have strong and personal views about animal research. Any of our supporters who prefer not to support research that involves the use of animals can restrict their donations either to research in our programme that does not involve animals, or to our other objectives: education, awareness, information and support.

You can read more here.

The Fundraising Promise

This donor charter has been produced to assure donors and potential donors of the accountability and integrity of Myeloma UK.

When you make or consider making a donation to Myeloma UK, we undertake that:

• All communications surrounding the donation will be honest, truthful and will comply with the law
• Your  donation will be applied to the purpose for which it was originally requested or intended and as quickly as possible
• You will receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition, including, where applicable, progress reports on relevant activities
• Your name or contact details will not be passed onto any other organisation
• Your rights to privacy will be respected and you will not be subject to any type of pressure
• We will comply within the law relating to fundraising and the use of personal data as outlined by the Data Protection Act (2018)
• Fundraisers and all other Myeloma UK staff will strive to achieve the highest professional standards at all times
• We will respond to any concerns or feedback you have relating to these points, including any complaints

Working with the pharmaceutical industry

Myeloma UK understands the importance of working in partnership with all stakeholders with an interest in myeloma, including the pharmaceutical industry, to achieve common goals. We acknowledge that both collaborative working and financial support from pharmaceutical companies is vital but at the same time we recognise the need for such partnerships to be transparent and able to stand up to scrutiny.

As a result, Myeloma UK has developed a policy document defining how we engage with the pharmaceutical industry. This will ensure we can withstand external scrutiny of our decisions and actions whilst at the same time allowing us freedom to work in a way which ultimately benefits myeloma patients and their families.