11th Congress of the Society for Forensic Haemogenetics (Gesellschaft für forensische Blutgruppenkunde e.V.)

For the first time, the proceedings of our biennial congress of the Society for Forensic Haemogenetics will be published by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York. The different areas of research now include cellu­ lar allotypes, i. e. not only the traditional red cell antigens, but also those of white cells and platelets. Plasma isoproteins and intracellular isoenzy­ mes, DNA polymorphisms (restriction length fragment and banding), and biostatistics are further topics in our Society. They also deserve our special attention in the future. The practical applications comprise paren­ tage testing, stain analysis, population genetics, molecular biology and other immunogenetic aspects. The 11th Congress in Copenhagen was an excellent opportunity to pre­ sent our broad spectrum of scientific activities at an international forum. Among the many outstanding lectures from different parts of the world, D. A. Hopkinson's contribution on genetic variation of human enzymes and H. Matsumoto's lecture on immunoglobulin allotypes in China should be mentioned here and also L. Bolund's communication on DNA. An optimal exchange of scientific information was achieved by the arrangement of main lectures, poster sessions and workshops. The Con­ gress president Dr. Klavs Henningsen deserves our special thanks for his efforts in the excellent organization of this congress.