While organ donation is picking up in the State, awareness about the concept of skin donation is yet to catch up. Since its inception in March 2016, the State’s first and the only skin bank set up in the government-run Victoria Hospital has had only 108 donations.
Attributing this to stigma and lack of awareness, doctors said of every 10 bereaved families that the staff of the bank reach out to, not more than three agree to donate skin. “They are ready to donate eyes and other organs. But they are not convinced with donating skin as they feel it will disfigure the body. That is a myth as only the outer layer of the skin from the thighs and legs (1,000 to 1,500 sq. cm) will be removed,” K.T. Ramesh, head of the Department of Plastic Surgery in Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), told The Hindu on Thursday.
- A skin bank is similar to an eye bank
- Skin is the vital and largest human organ
- Skin has to be harvested within six hours of death either at hospital or at home
- Harvesting is done from hidden areas such as the back and the thigh with no bleeding or deformity to the body
- The procedure lasts 30 minutes
- The harvested skin is then processed and stored for dispensing
- Cadaver skin will be preserved in subzero temperature at the bank
- In case of death of a dear one, relatives can call 080-26703633/8277576147 to donate skin
The demand for skin is increasing but the supply is not adequate owing to such misconceptions and lack of awareness. So far, the donated skin has been used for grafting/biological dressing in 97 patients across the State. While the youngest recipient is a four-year-old boy, the oldest is an 85-year-old male.
Citing the example of an eight-year-old boy who suffered burns after he tried to imitate a stunt, Dr. Ramesh said the boy, son of a driver from Tilaknagar in the city, suffered third-degree burns on his chest, feet, and upper limbs and was rushed to the Mahabodhi Burns ward in Victoria Hospital. He needed skin grafting and biological dressing as he had suffered deep burns.
“Although some patches of the skin from his thigh area were used, they were not enough. We used the donated skin from the bank on a major portion of his chest and the boy recovered fast,” the doctor said.
With the burns ward in the hospital getting nearly 220 admissions (of which over 70% are serious cases), the skin bank is of great help to the patients to deal with the trauma of a disfigured skin. Hospitals from across the State are placing requests for skin and using it on their patients.
“The skin bank is a boon for patients as there is no blood group matching required in skin grafting. Anyone over 18 years who does not have any skin disease or infections can donate skin,” Dr. Ramesh said.
Sustained awareness
The bank, set up in association with Rotary Bangalore Midtown and Ashirvad Pipes (Rotary Ashirvad BMCRI Skin Bank), did not get good response in the first year. Following this, the BMCRI planned to rope in Kannada film actors Prem and Kumar Bangarappa to popularise the concept of skin donation.
“While the actors participated in a few awareness programmes, our skin bank team comprising of paramedics B.N. Nagaraj, K.S. Prasanna, and K.N. Raghavendra has been doing a yeo man job. Apart from visiting colleges and public functions to create awareness, the team also accompanies grief counsellors from Jeevasarthakathe, the State-run body that facilitates cadaver organ transplantation programme, to hospitals where brain deaths are declared,” said Dr. Ramesh.
Volunteering by IT professionals
To promote cadaver skin donations, the skin bank is now creating awareness by circulating short videos through WhatsApp groups. Volunteers from among the IT professionals have also come forward to spread the word in their community and neighbourhood.
Bharatesh M.S., an IT professional who is actively involved in creating awareness, said a campaign was being carried out through their NGO — Youthline Foundation. “We are circulating awareness videos in our community and have managed to reach out to over 500 professionals so far. We are now planning to get endorsement videos and bytes of celebrities and circulate them. Taking it further, we are also planning a public event at ITPL and hope to reach out to a larger crowd of IT professionals,” he added.
Prominent donors
Prominent among the 108 donors is Lalithamma, 89, wife of freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy who passed away last week. Another donor is the former IAS officer Prem Prakash Chabra, 83, who passed away in March 2017. Chabra is the father of IAS officer Shalini Rajneesh.