The intent of this post is to create awareness regarding skin donation.
As most of you aware that recently my Dad passed away. He wanted to donate every organ but based on the circumstances/situation, we could only donate his eye and skin.
I had not heard about skin donation before. Apparently, it is immensely useful for burnt victim. It could save the life of the patient. The burnt victim stats are staggering. Lots of hospitals in Mumbai and other cities have special wards for burnt patients. Skin is the body’s first line of defense. It is water proof and prevents infection from entering the body. If untreated, bacterial infection, dehydration, loss of protein and electrolytes takes place. This grafted skin provides comfort and prevents fluid loss and infection. It saves the life of burnt victim.
The process of skin donation:- Only the superficial layers of the skin are harvested from thighs and back. Should be harvested within 6 hours after death. No matching is required. No bleeding or disfigurement. It takes approx 30-45 minutes. (Exceptions are skin cancer patient). Harvested skin is stored in Skin bank. It can be used after 4-6 weeks of proper storage. Skin harvesting team takes care of everything.
24 hours SKIN DONATION HELPLINE NUMBER 022- 27793333. Please contact them for further information. There are non government voluntary groups like Sumati group in Mulund which can provide more information. They work 24/7. For my Dad, they came @ 1.30 AM (Saturday night).
Mumbai city alone needs 2000 skin donations a year i.e. 5 a day! Present supply is 5 a month! Please help in spreading awareness. Thanks!
Nice article Sandip and this information is needed too. I believe Samir’s family also donated his eyes and skin.
Informative article Sandip. Came to know about skin donation through khabar patrika article for Samir and was wondering what would be people using it for. This article clarifies that doubt.