by Christian F. Poets in September 2004

On behalf of ESPID, I want to express my deep sorrow for the sudden loss of Prof. André Kahn. He was one of the founding members of ESPID and has been a driving force of our society ever since. He was one of the most respected researchers in the field of SIDS, the first and only to perform sleep studies in large numbers of infants to identify abnormalities in those who later died of SIDS, and has continued to do highly original research of the highest standards throughout his professional life.

He also had genuine interest in SIDS parents and was a driving force in establishing SIDS Europe and encouraging dialogue between parents and researchers. As one of our members put it, he has been a spokesperson, investigator, counselor, organiser, and adovcate in SIDS for so long, his contributions so many, his respect so widespread, his friendship so valued, that the coming days, weeks, and years will be filled with a void that will be difficult for all of us to even imagine.

Personally, I felt particularly close to him because we shared the same sport. We had planned for so long to train together; now this will never happen. Each time I met him, particularly with Marie, his wife, he was full of warmth, charm and humour. All of us have lost a wonderful and admired colleague and friend. Our hearts go to his family. They were so happy together! But as Henry Krous put it, I have no doubt that he would want us to carry on, to bear the torch in his absence, and to remember and honour his life with a redoubling of our efforts to rid the world of the scourge of SIDS.

André Kahn's obituary in the Scand J of Forensic Sciences 2004; 10 (3-4).