Plastic surgeon wants to set up skin bank

Kerala, which has set its own standards of health care comparable with the West, should set up a skin bank that would facilitate skin transplant for people with burn injuries, a plastic surgeon said here.

After having worked in Britain, plastic surgeon M.S. Jayasekhar is working on an awareness campaign about a skin bank in the state, which he thinks will be a great boon for those who suffer severe burn injuries.

"I have done numerous skin transplant surgeries in Britain. The first few days are very crucial for anyone who has suffered severe burns and a skin transplant can really help them," said Jayasekhar to IANS.

At a function here about creating awareness about skin donation, a retired bureaucrat D. Babu Paul agreed to donate his skin, said Jayasekhar.

The surgeon feels that the need of the hour is an awareness drive, to educate people that skin also can be removed from a cadaver, like other organs of the human body.

"All the skin from below the neck can be removed using an instrument similar to a hair trimmer. This can then can be stored in a saline solution and can have a life of around six weeks," he said.