A skin bank is a place while cadaveric skin is processed and preserved under optimal conditions from where it can be used for the benefit of Burn victims.
A person can donate his skin after his death. Skin can be donated within 6 hours from the time of death.
A person can donate his skin after his death. Skin can be donated within 6 hours from the time of death
Anyone can donate skin irrespective of sex & blood group. The minimum age of the donor should be 18 years but there is no upper age limit. Even a 100-year-old person can donate his skin and it will be used for treatment.
No cross matching of blood group or HLA typing is required before placing the skin graft on the recipient.
The whole procedure takes only about 30 – 45 minutes.
No, Skin Bank Team will come to the donor’s home, hospital or morgue wherever the donor is kept. We don’t need to shift the donor to the operating room, hospital or ambulance.
Yes, consent of the next of kin and a witness is required before skin harvesting procedure is initiated.
Skin is commonly harvested from both the legs, both the thighs and the back.
NO, only the uppermost thin layer of the skin is harvested
No, there is no bleeding from the site where skin is harvested from and there is no disfigurement to the body. After the procedure, the area is bandaged properly. After skin harvestation, other organ donation is also possible.
Skin of persons suffering from AIDS, Hepatitis B & C, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Skin Cancer, Active skin Disease and Septicemia are considered unfit for donation. At the time of skin harvesting, blood sample from the body of the deceased is also taken and necessary test for HIV, Viral markers & Hepatitis is carried out at the Skin Bank. Old history of trauma or old history of burns does not make the donor unfit for skin donation.
Even donors with these conditions can donate their skin.
After the skin is harvested, skin is evaluated, processed, screened at the skin bank, and then supplied to the Burns Surgeon for transplanting on burn patient. When the cadaveric skin is applied on a burn patient, it acts as a temporary dressing. It is rejected by the body over a period of four weeks. But, during that period, it helps in
Skin is generally preserved in 85% glycerol solution. It is stored between 4-5 degree Celsius and it can be stored for a period of up to 5 years.
There are skin banks at Lokmanya Tilak Medical College at Sion, Mumbai and National Burns centre, Airoli, Navi Mumbai. Very recently, Skin bank has been opened at Surya Hospital at Pune. To register as a skin donor, one can contact these hospitals, and also direct to those interested to do the same. In case of death of an individual, skin can be donated even without prior registration by contacting the nearest skin bank.
