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Mumbai doctors launch awareness campaign on skin donation | Doctors in Mumbai are trying to popularise the concept of
skin-donations at special skin-banks. Skin donations are made at skin banks, and the tissue is used for burn victims, particularly for those patients who have
sustained more than 40 percent burn injuries. Dr Madhuri Gore, Head of Department
of Surgery at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital said that a skin bank
works on the same principles as any bank. "I am sure everyone wants to know what
exactly is a skin bank. I must say that skin bank is just like any other bank.
We keep money in the bank. The purpose is that we can use it whenever we need
it and same is the purpose of skin bank; that's where we are storing skin in the
bank and we use it on the patient, whenever the patient needs it. It is a very
basic and simple principle," said Dr Gore. Skin donation is usually made by a
simple procedure of grafting a thin outer layer of skin, called epidermis, from
the thigh and back of a donor, and preserving it in an ultra-cool storage system.
India has only two skin banks, both of which are located in Mumbai - the Lokmanya
Tilak Hospital, which is aided by Mumbai's Municipal Corporation, and the National
Burns Centre, which works in collaboration with Euro Skin Bank of Amsterdam. The
National Burns Centre is the first city-based skin bank, which stores tissues
for up to three years. Once these preserved layers of skin are grafted onto the
affected areas of a burn victim's body, they facilitate faster healing, usually
within 14 days. Dr S. M. Keshwani of National Burns Centre said: "People are not
donating because they don't want to donate. They are not aware that skin donation
is possible. Donate skin and save life is the motto and slogan that we are trying
to promote. Good donation is to donate life, that we are trying to promote through
National Burns Centre, through Burns Association of India and through various
NGOs, Rotary (Club), and all who are helping us out in creating awareness about
skin donation." Lack of awareness is the major hurdle in skin donation. To counter
that, the National Burns Centre is planning to undertake a massive awareness campaign
in the city. Every year, roughly over 1,000 severely burnt patients require skin
treatment. However, both National Burns Centre and the skin bank at Lokmanya Tilak
Municipal General Hospital (LTMG) get a meagre 10 donors in a year. |
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