Skin donation campaign gets Rotary clubs support

With a view to encourage people to donate skin,123 Rotary clubs across the city have collaborated with the National Burns Centre in Airoli to start a Skin Donation campaign.

With a view to encourage people to donate skin,123 Rotary clubs across the city have collaborated with the National Burns Centre in Airoli to start a Skin Donation campaign. Most people are unaware about skin donation. Those who know about it think that it is a painful process. These awareness programmes will help them understand and contribute to the cause, said Rotary Club of Bombay Sea Coast president Amarlal Bajaj.

The process of skin donation involves removal of one eighth of skin from the back or thigh within five hours of the donors demise. This skin is preserved in an ultra-cold storage system and used for burns patients. After it is grafted onto the recipients skin,it facilitates healing. Most patients who sustain more than 40 per cent burns require skin donation.

Donors will first have to fill a form agreeing to donate skin after their demise. On receiving a call from the family,specialised doctors from the National Burns Centre will then take a part of the persons skin after a few hours of his death and store it in the skin bank, said Bajaj.

Story continues below this ad

According to the BMC,around 1,000 die every year of burn injuries. Despite such a high rate,Sion Hospital and the National Burns Centre at Airoli are the only skin banks in the city.

Contrary to what most believe,the patient is not skinned. Only a superficial layer is scraped and there is no bleeding involved. Information gap is a major hurdle which we are trying to overcome through social networking sites,NGOs and hospitals, said Dr Sunil Keswani,secretary of the National Burns Centre. We have a vision of five years to reach our target of 30 daily donors. said Keswani.

The Rotary Club has also approached the BMC to help them in their campaign.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram