AAHRPP accredits 4 institutions

WASHINGTON – The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs said it has accredited four more organizations—including the first hospital in the Middle East that demonstrates that their protections exceed the safeguards required by the U.S. government.

The newly accredited organizations are: King Fahad Specialist Hospital-Dammam, Dammam, Saudi Arabia; the Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; and the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee in USA.

The accreditations provide some of the strongest evidence to date that AAHRPP's accreditation standards have gained acceptance among the world's most respected research institutions. In virtually every sector of the research enterprise and every region of the globe, organizations are relying on these standards to help protect research participants.

With the accreditation of King Fahad Specialist Hospital-Dammam, AAHRPP makes inroads in yet another region of the world and, once again, demonstrates that AAHRPP standards have universal applications. The hospital was accredited in accordance with AAHRPP standards, U.S. regulations, International Conference on Harmonisation-Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice (E6) and Saudi Arabian law.

The accreditation of Taipei Medical University Hospital—the second university-affiliated hospital in Taiwan to earn the AAHRPP gold seal—marks another international milestone for AAHRPP, which now has accredited 18 organizations outside the United States.

"These latest accreditations in Saudi Arabia and Taiwan are a reminder that we truly can have one standard for research protections worldwide," said Elyse I. Summers, AAHRPP president and CEO. "That standard has been set by AAHRPP."

The AAHRPP accreditation of NIH, the world's largest public funder of research, covers the institute’s intramural research program, including NIH investigators at more than 20 institutes and centers on all NIH campuses.

"NIH is the world's premier research organization. NIH has been at the forefront of research innovation and ethics for decades, and organizations the world round follow NIH's lead," said Ms Summers, AAHRPP president and CEO. "The decision to seek AAHRPP accreditation delivers a powerful message to research institutions about NIH's commitment to research protections and the value of AAHRPP's standards."

"NIH is pleased to know that we have met the rigorous standards set by AAHRPP that demonstrate the high quality of our human research protection program," said Dr Michael Gottesman, NIH deputy director for intramural research.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a household-name research organization whose decision to seek AAHRPP accreditation underscores the hospital's commitment to protecting the thousands of children who participate in research at St. Jude.

AAHRPP accreditation is available to all organizations worldwide that conduct or review biomedical, behavioral or social sciences research involving human participants. Accreditation decisions are made quarterly.

To date, AAHRPP has accredited organizations in 46 U.S. states, Canada, mainland China, India, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Taiwan. All major U.S. independent institutional review boards have earned AAHRPP accreditation. In addition, more than 60% of U.S.Shop Women's Boots