The voice for the dead

Forensic pathologist Prof Ryan Blumenthal turns autopsy tables into classrooms for the living

- Jamaine Krige

When Prof Ryan Blumenthal speaks about death, it’s with a reverence that makes the living sit up and listen. In the sterile silence of the mortuary, he has found his calling as a voice for those who can no longer speak.

A senior specialist forensic pathologist and associate professor at the University of Pretoria, this year's NSTF-South32 Communication Award winner is on a mission to share the lessons of the dead with the living, transforming one of medicine’s most misunderstood fields into a platform for public education and social impact.

"Forensic pathologists are not just doctors, scientists or academics. We are a special kind of medical expert," he says. "We do not break. We do not quit. We do what must be done."

An autopsy is more than a medical procedure, it's a search for meaning, justice and, often, closure. “There are lessons to be learned about life when studying death. We perform autopsies not just to catch criminals, but to prevent unnecessary deaths. The same type of death should never happen twice.”