The overarching aim of the expert circle is to institutionalize organ-specific reference centers and best practice centers to monitor COVID-19 pathology and generate national guidelines in diagnostics.
To ensure success, the following objectives are necessary:
- Platform for organ-specific reference pathology assessment
- Establishment and implementation of post mortem COVID-19 diagnostic criteria
- Reporting of stratified COVID-19 autopsy findings
- Establishment, implementation, and distribution of COVID-19 related best practice
- Standardized cooperation to regional public health services
Organ-specific reference centers enabling “state-of-the-art” reference diagnostics on COVID-19 relevant organ systems have been set up during DEFEAT PANDEMIcs due to their specific expertise and already existing and ready-to-use infrastructures established in the framework of already existing research structures. These are complemented by an organ-overarching reference center for infection diagnostics with expertise in molecular virology and virus detection.
| Organ system | Reference center |
| Lung/Respiratory | Medizinische Hochschule Hannover |
| Kidney/Uro | Universitätsklinikum Aachen |
| Cardiovascular | Universitätsklinikum Erlangen |
| Central Nervous System | Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf |
| Lymphatic/Hematopoietic system | Universitätsklinikum Tübingen |
| Liver/Pancreaticobiliary | Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg |
| Gastrointestinal Tract | Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Dresden |
| Infection diagnostics | Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf |
