A skin bank to store harvested donor skin that can then be used on individuals as a temporary skin cover was opened at the Government Stanley Hospital. This is the first skin bank under the government in the State, said G.R. Ratnavel, head, department of cosmetology, at the hospital.
“For patients with burns, acute skin failure due to drug allergies, degloving injuries, flaying injuries, friction and skin injuries, acute slicing injuries and several kinds of ulcers, processed skin from the skin bank can be used as a cover,” he said. This skin will act as a dressing and fall off within 15 days, by which time the patient’s own new skin would have formed, he explained. It also prevents infections, he said. “Cadaver skin is the best dressing that can be given,” he said.
Skin from a donor is generally harvested within six hours, stored in glycerol and then taken to a skin bank. There it undergoes a three-stage process: ultra-violet sterilisation for 15 minutes, processing for one hour with certain chemicals to give it a long life and preservation at minus–4 degree Celsius. It can then last for five to six years, said Dr. Ratnavel.
However, skin is only taken from donors once they are checked for HIV and Hepatitis B and C. The skin is harvested from the back in a process that takes 45 minutes.
Anyone, who has died of illness, aged above 18 and free of HIV and Hepatitis, is eligible to donate, he said. The bank was set-up at a cost of around Rs. 80 lakh.
From October 2008 until August 20 this year, skin from 43 donors have been harvested in the State.
