The National Autopsy Network (NATON) has been able to present itself at a number of events and in various media over the past three months. For example, Prof Dr Benjamin Ondruschka presented NATON at the 108th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Legal Medicine in Okayama at the beginning of June. The title of the presentation was "Fueling the largest autopsy network worldwide - past, present and future of collaborative post mortem research". The presentation covered the history, achievements and future goals of the autopsy network and looked at potential applications and opportunities for cooperation with Japanese colleagues.
Prof. Dr Peter Boor gave a presentation at the annual conference of the German Society of Pathology (DPG) at the end of May on how NATON fits into the structures of the NUM. Prof Dr Ines Gütgemann from the academic medical center Bonn followed this up with a scientific presentation on "Neuropilin 1 (NRP1) and Neuropilin 2 (NRP2) in fatal COVID-19". The Health Data Utilisation Act (GDNG) and its effects on the National Autopsy Registry (NAREG) were then examined in more detail and widely discussed. The GDNG was also the focus of a NATON contribution at the Register Days 2024 organised by TMF e. V. in Berlin in May. NATON was represented here with a brief introduction to the development of the NAREG and the successes of DeRegCOVID. In addition, the individual paragraphs of the GDNG were examined in more detail and it was shown how the new legislation has a positive impact on the registry.
Also in May, NATON issued a statement on the cancellation of pathological-anatomical case demonstrations from the practical year. The "Plea in favour of case demonstrations for autopsies in the practical year" can be read in short form in the Ärzteblatt.
In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung of 28 April, medical journalist Ragnhild Schweitzer writes about the importance of autopsies in researching new diseases and their effects on the entire body. The fact that corpses in Germany are increasingly being examined only superficially is a missed opportunity. NATON submitted comments for the article and is quoted several times. And finally, the specialist journal "Springer Rechtsmedizin" reports on the NATON presence meeting in January 2024.
Source photo: Krebs/UKE