India's 2nd largest skin bank to start collection in June

First transplant likely in August; facility can save lives of burns patients

The state’s first skin bank at Victoria Hospital will start skin collection from June first week as facilities to commission the centre are nearing completion. It is the country’s second largest and sixth skin bank.

“We sent cultures and swabs of walls and corners of the room meant for the lab to know if it is completely sterile,” Dr Smitha S Segu, head, Rotary Ashirvad BMRCI skin bank, Victoria Hospital, told Deccan Herald.

Testing lab wall samples
As per the standard practice, the samples have to be sent thrice to confirm that the lab is fully sterile. Dr Smitha is confident of skin collection for transplant from June first week and have a first transplant in August.
 
“The collected skin needs to be processed for at least two months before it is transplanted,” she said on the two-month delay even after collecting the skin.

The Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns plans to convert the skin bank into a nodal centre for Karnataka. There are plans to open skin collection centres at every district hospital and other big hospitals in the state. “The bank provides skin collection facility at these hospitals. The skin can be stored in a media for about 48 hours before it is processed at the bank,” she said.

Victoria is the country’s second largest burns unit followed by Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital. There are 54 beds at the unit and caters to the requirement of patients sustaining more than 20 per cent burns from across South India.

The unit registers 160 to 180 burn admissions a month. Dr Smitha said that at least 50 of the admitted patients succumb to burn injuries. “The skin bank can save the lives of at least 50 such patients a month,” Smitha said.

Donor awareness
The hospital’s immediate challenge is lack of awareness and less number of skin donors. Though the bank was inaugurated on April 30, 2016, only a little over 50 persons have registered so far.

Skin is the largest and fastest growing organ of the human being. “Many patients die at Victoria Hospital while undergoing treatment. We have requested heads of all departments to inform us about every death so that we can convince immediate relatives of the deceased for skin donation. A team of counsellors has been constituted to convince relatives of the deceased at the mortuary where bodies are taken for post mortem,” doctors said.

The hospital has created a pledge form to register for the skin donation after the death. However, consent of the immediate relatives is mandatory even after the member’s death.

The hospital will soon launch an online pledge form to help donors across the state. Skin from thighs and legs is collected as they are the widest parts of the human body, Dr Smitha said.

Anyone aged 18 and above and without symptoms of HIV-Aids, Hepatitis B and C, sexually transmitted diseases, skin cancer and HBSAG are eligible to donate skin.