About the FCS-free Database

Fetal Calf Serum (FCS, also known as Fetal Bovine Serum, or FBS) is a widely used supplement of cell culture media. However, there are major animal welfare concerns associated with the production of FCS, as it is harvested from bovine fetuses during the slaughter of pregnant cows. In addition, there are multiple scientific concerns associated with the use of FCS.

In light of these ethical and scientific concerns there is a pressing need to phase out the use of FCS for biomedical research. The FCS-free Database provides researchers with an overview and a search tool for commercially available alternative cell culture supplements and FCS-free media, as well as alternative medium compositions described in scientific literature.

The FCS-free Database is part of the 3Rs Research Tools Programme together with the Interspecies Database and the Humane Endpoints website. These platforms are managed and hosted by the 3Rs Centre Utrecht, and are dedicated at facilitating researchers to replace, reduce and refine animal experiments. When mentioning the FCS-free Database please also use its RRID: SCR_018769.