North India’s first skin bank opens in Safdarjung Hospital

Patients of skin infections, skin cancer treatments such as Mohs surgery, skin ulcers, and slow healing or large wounds can all benefit from skin grafting.

According to Dr Kumar, skin grafting decreases mortality, increases survival rates in patients and helps them achieve better healing outcomes. (Express Photo)

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A skin bank — a first for North India — was inaugurated on Tuesday in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital.

The country has 16 skin banks — a facility where the skin of deceased persons can be donated — with seven in Maharashtra, four in Chennai, three in Karnataka, and one each in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

“Till now we did not have a skin bank in Delhi or in Northern India… People would call us and make requests for skin donations but we could not act upon those,” said Dr Shalabh Kumar, the head of the department of burns and plastic surgery of the hospital.

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“Today, people know about organ donations, but they are not aware of skin donations,” Dr Kumar said.

“Skin grafting is a very simple process,” he said. The skin of a deceased person can be donated within six hours of death, said Dr Kumar. The skin is then extracted, harvested and processed, which takes five to six weeks. After this, it can be provided to patients, he added. Unlike a kidney and liver, which cannot be stored and need to be transplanted within a few hours of donation, skin can be stored for three to five years, he said.

According to Dr Kumar, skin grafting decreases mortality, increases survival rates in patients and helps them achieve better healing outcomes.

It also decreases their hospital stay and overall cost of treatment. “Earlier, we had to transport skin from Southern India to treat serious patients but with a skin bank in Delhi, this will no longer be required,” Dr Kumar said.

According to a communication by the Safdarjung Hospital, every year, 7-10 million people sustain burn injuries in India, making it the second most common cause of injury after road accidents.

If the patient’s skin is severely burned or damaged and the area is not covered with a skin substitute, they may develop an infection, Dr Kumar said.