In response to the questions posed in this scenario, the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) provides the following clarifications.

Veterinary verification and consultation (VVC) is a method for approving significant changes to a previously approved protocol.1 It may not be used to add a new procedure that was not previously approved on the protocol. Such a change should be reviewed and approved by full committee review (FCR) or designated member review (DMR).

There are two parts to approving a significant change by VVC. The first part is when the IACUC approves a policy, SOP or guidance that describes the significant changes acceptable to the IACUC. The second part is when a veterinarian authorized by the IACUC, in consultation with the research team, verifies that the requested change is in compliance with the IACUC-approved policy and appropriate for the specific situation and animal(s). The veterinarian is not conducting DMR, but is verifying compliance with the IACUC policy and that the change is appropriate for the animals in this circumstance. The consultation with the veterinarian must be documented.1

An example of when VVC is appropriate is as follows. The IACUC has a VVC policy that describes acceptable parameters of blood collection. The IACUC approved a protocol to use one of the approved methods of blood withdrawal in its policy. The IACUC may use VVC to permit the research team to make a significant change, such as collecting additional samples or changing the location of the blood withdrawal, providing it is within the parameters specified in the policy. However, VVC may not be used to add blood collection for a protocol that was not approved for blood collection.

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