Good news for burns patients in the state. The first skin bank of the state, opened at the Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital here recently, will cater to the needs of burns patients in Odisha and neighbouring states. Due to lack of awareness on skin donation and skin bank, a large number of burns patients suffer physical deformity and face social stigma, doctors said.
“In the skin bank we will preserve skins like we do in eye bank. Skins will be collected from people within six hours of death and can be preserved for five years. No blood group or cross matching is required for using the preserved skin,” said head of plastic surgery department of the hospital Dr Jayant Kumar Dash.
The hospital has signed an MoU with the National Burns Centre in Mumbai, which has been running a skin bank for the last four years with around 250 donations a year.
Courtesy: Times of India
Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) : Vivek Debroy of NITI Aayog writes about it