Various awareness events marked the National Organ Donation Day observance in Coimbatore on Saturday.
Ganga Hospital observed the day by organising a skin donation awareness exhibition, inaugurated by the hospital’s founders Kanakavalli Shanmuganathan and J.G. Shanmuganathan. S. Raja Sabapathy, the hospital’s director and chairman of the Division of Plastic Surgery, Hand Surgery, Reconstructive Microsurgery and Burns, and Dr. R. Raja Shanmuga Krishnan explained visitors about the importance of skin donation.
While superficial burns healed in two to three weeks, deep burns could not heal by themselves and needed skin grafting. When the total surface area of the burns involved more than 30 to 40 per cent of total body surface, patients would not have enough skin to spare to cover the burnt areas. The burn wounds would get infected and there was high chance of death in these people. This could be prevented by using skin from donors, said a release.
Skin donation could be done like eye donation after death of an individual. Skin of people who died due to old age, or any cause other than serious infection and communicable diseases could be donated, it said the release from the hospital which has a skin bank.
The multi-organ transplant team of PSG Hospital conducted an organ donation awareness programme at the hospital on Saturday. Senior doctors spoke at the event.
Royal Care Super Speciality Hospital chairman K. Madeswaran launched a signature campaign at the hospital and released awareness pamphlets.
