Egypt ends use of animals for trauma training program with human-patient simulators from PETA

Collaboration between PETA and surgeons modernizes trauma training in Egypt

In a landmark move, Egypt has completely ended the use of animals in its leading trauma training program, thanks to a donation of state-of-the-art TraumaMan human-patient simulators from PETA. The director of the Egyptian Life Support Training Center (ELSTC) in Cairo contacted PETA earlier this year to explain that participants in the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course felt "very uncomfortable" with the animal laboratories, in which participants injured and cut open live goats, who were later killed. The director wanted to switch to modern simulation methods, such as Simulab's TraumaMan simulator. TraumaMan has been shown to teach these lifesaving skills better than cruel animal-based training, and it's in use in 95 percent of ATLS courses in the U.S. and Canada. Now, with PETA's donation, 100 percent of ATLS courses in Egypt use these simulators.

"No more animals will be used in ATLS training in Egypt," ELSTC Director Dr. Abdelhakim T. Elkholy wrote to PETA. Furthermore, because of the simulators' portability, Dr. Elkholy stated, "With the help of PETA, now ATLS can be spread to every part in Egypt."

"This donation will provide ATLS course participants in Egypt with the best lifesaving training available and save scores of goats from being mutilated and killed," says PETA Senior Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo. "PETA invites any ATLS training facility that has yet to switch to these modern simulators to contact us immediately for assistance."

The donation was made possible by The McGrath Family Foundation of San Diego, which supports PETA's global work to replace animals in laboratories with more effective and humane non-animal methods.

Photos of the TraumaMan models in use in Egypt are available upon request.