The Aaron Diamond Aids Research Center (ADARC) is a large charity research organization that receives financial contributions from private nongovernment sources and that uses the funding to conduct research experiments in an attempt to treat HIV and to cure AIDS. Although the cause of AIDS in humans cannot be replicated by many other animals and primates, the scientific community has established that macaques can simulate the effects of AIDS, and thus the ADARC typically uses macaques to test possible treatments.
The ALS Association is a clinical research charity dedicated to slowing down the effects, alleviating the symptoms and finding a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This disease usually infects people between the ages of 40 and 70, and around 30,000 people in the U.S. suffer from ALS, as of 2011. One of the most famous victims of ALS was Lou Gehrig, and as a result the disease can also be referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease. To most effectively test drugs that might safely and successfully battle the disease, the ALS Association conducts preclinical tests on multiple animals before applying the treatments to human patients. Some animals tested on by the association's experiments include mice and monkeys.
The American Health Assistance Foundation facilitates conducts research aiming to help treat and cure Alzheimer's disease, glaucoma and macular degeneration. The foundation uses laboratory experiments that involve testing on animals, for such animal testing is essential for finding reliable treatment methods for these diseases. However, to ensure that all laboratory animals used in experiments are treated humanely, all research experiment proposals must be approved by an animal care and use committee before the experiment can be granted funding. Additionally, the experiment must be conducted at an institution with animal welfare assurance on file with the Public Health Service Office.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a charity that helps provide grants to fund scientific researchers devoted to finding treatments for cancer. Many of the research experiments funded by the ACS involve animal testing, however the Society mandates that all grantees comply with federal and institutional regulations that verify the animals being tested on are treated humanely. Furthermore, researchers with innovative ideas for experiments must undergo a thorough review process and must demonstrate that the research can fulfill the goals of treating cancer before the experiment can be approved by a National Board of Directors to receive funding.