6th International DAN Divers Day

DAN Europe organised, on Sunday 19th of September, for the 6th time an International DAN Divers Day. This time the event was organised in the Galatasaray University in Istanbul, Turkey.

Participants came not only from all over Turkey but also as far as from the Maldives to listen to the lecturers, who talked about medical, research and safety related issues.

The first lecturer of the day was Prof. Costantino Balestra, who talked about recent developments in diving research. A very interesting lecture during which divers saw how complicated and fun research can be and how the results increase safety and open new perspectives.

The second lecturer, Dr Peter Germonpré talked about PFO and the diver. A lecture that not only explained in detail what a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) is, but that also showed the possible risks involved. The lecture made clear that diving with a PFO does not need to be a big concern and that there is no need to screen all divers to detect the existence of a PFO.

The morning session ended with a lecture by Dr Wilfried Welslau, who talked about the German/Swiss and Austrian Guidelines for Diving Accidents. It was a well appreciated lecture that gave some clear takehome messages for all participants. His lecture also underlined the importance of being able to provide first aid and get specific training.

After the lunch break, during which participants had the chance to talk with the lecturers, Bahattin Memisoglu explained what DAN is and showed how DAN is engaging in many fields. This lecture was very well received by the public and many questions followed as the participants did not know or imagine what DAN is actually doing for the diving community.

The next lecture was about Biomedical Aspects of Diving Research. Dr Egi Murat and other University and DAN Research team members showed that not all research is purely medical. Of course, medical and technical research were discussed and many interesting research projects that can increase diving safety were also introduced.

After a short coffee break, Guy Thomas talked about DAN’s Recompression Chamber Assistance and Partnership Program (RCAPP) during which he not only explained how DAN assists and works with Hyperbaric Chambers to increase safety, but also showed how risk assessment and expert training are linked to the quality and safety awareness of dive centres.

The last lecture was held by Dr Ahmed Sakr, from Egypt, who talked about Diving incidents and accidents in the Red Sea. A very interesting lecture that gave some insights about the risks involved in diving when on holidays, but that also showed that dive accidents are rare and that diving is not a dangerous sport.

Entrance to the DAN Day was free of charge and coffee and tea where offered to all participants. Simultaneous translations from English into Turkish where made available to local divers who did not understand English: they could benefit from the high quality lectures as well.

DAN Europe wishes to thank the local DAN Europe Turkey team and all volunteers and DAN members for making it possible to organise this event, free of charge.

If you could not be there this time, make sure you book in time for the next DAN DAYs, which will be held in Finland and Poland.