Skin donations in Bengaluru pick up but demand still outstrips supply

Although donations at the State’s only skin bank in the government-run Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru have increased over the years, the demand still outstrips supply. The bank has been able to fulfill around 65% of the total 391 requests for skin that it received so far. 

Although donations at the State’s only skin bank in the government-run Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru have increased over the years, the demand still outstrips supply. The bank has been able to fulfill around 65% of the total 391 requests for skin that it received so far. 

Since its inception in March 2016 when it received 18 donations, the bank has recorded a total of 227 donations so far. The donations have been used for skin grafting in a total of 242 patients so far. As of now, the bank has a stock of 8,000 sq.cm.

The bank, set up in association with Rotary Ashirvad, received requests from 391 patients for skin so far including 29 from other States. It has been able to cater to 252 patients including 26 from other States.

“Apart from all over Karnataka, we are now getting requests from neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha and Delhi too. While donations are on the rise in the last two years, the challenge is that our teams can go and harvest donor skin only in and around Bengaluru. We need to have skin harvesting teams with trained personnel in the districts with all logistics to collect skin from brain dead cases reported there, similar to a system being followed in other organ donations,” Yogishwarappa C.N., Professor and Head of the Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns in Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), told The Hindu on Thursday.

With the use of donated skin, the chances of survival in patients with first and second degree burns increases by 30% to 50%, depending on their overall condition. “We use the donated skin on patients with severe burns after their condition stabilises. This has led to a significant progress in burn care and recovery,” the doctor said. 

“We keep a reserve of 4,000 sq.cm of donated skin for patients in the Mahabodhi burns ward in Victoria Hospital. The burns ward gets nearly 220 admissions every month, of which over 70% are serious cases. The bank is a boon for patients, as there is no blood group matching required in skin grafting. Anyone over the age of 18, who does not have any skin disease or infection, can donate skin,” Dr. Yogishwarappa said.

Senior nursing officer Nagaraj B.N., who is the coordinator at the bank, said that among the recipients, while the youngest is a four-year-old boy, the oldest is an 85-year-old male. Among donors, the youngest is a 17-year-old male while the oldest is a 98-year-old male.