Skin Bank can reduce the cost of treating burn injuries

By Vikas Vaidya

“The burn injuries are not taken seriously in our countries because of which many patients die. The cost of treating burn patients who received injuries more than 60 per cent is much high, may go to Rs 10 to 15 lakh. But existence of Skin Bank makes a difference, the cost cut down by one fourth and which is a good thing. I am offering all kind of help to the hospitals in India if they are willing to open Skin Bank,” said Dr S M Keswani, Plastic Cosmetic and Burns Surgeon. He pioneered Skin Bank concept in India by opening first such bank in Mumbai. He was in city to deliver lecture in a symposium on Burns organised by Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS)
Dr Keswani said, “When patient gets more than 60 per cent burn injuries he or she needs to be treated immediately. These patients need skin grafting, because dead skin gets infected and invites bacteria which is more dangerous. We remove the dead skin and put the donor’s skin on. If it is not done within 72 hours of injury then during procedure the patients bleeds heavily. It is very painful too.”
Dr Keswani who spends one and a half hours daily for reading, had gone to Europe tour during which he visited Skin Bank at Amsterdam, Holland. He had stayed there for two days, understood the concept of Skin Bank and decided to start one in India.
Dr Keswani pointed out, “About 80 per cent patients who suffer burn injuries are women or children. They all are from lower socio-economic category. Most of the cases are either of suicide or homicide. These patients if treated cant afford costly treatment. Existence of Skin Bank can reduce the cost of treatment and these patients may get treated.”
Dr Keswani is ready to provide all help to the hospitals which are willing to start skin bank. He said people should at least start collection centre, through which they should collect the skin and send it for processing to Dr Keswani who without charging much fees is ready to do the processing.
The first skin bank was established in Sion Hospital, Mumbai, second at Dr Keswani. Third one was formed in Pune with the help of Dr Keswani and fourth one was set up at Indore at Chithram Hospital.
Skin is treated as tissue and doesn’t come under organ donation or transplantation rules. They don’t need matching too. Following  accidents or burns , many times  skin is  damaged irreparably. Only treatment is skin grafting for which  the person needs to  have skin donated by some one else.
Skin can be donated within in 6 hours from the time of death. Any one can donate skin, the minimum age of the donor should be 18 years but there is no upper age limit, even a 100-year-old person can donate his skin and it will be used for treatment. The donor should not be HIV, hepatitis B or HCV negative. He should not be suffering from skin cancer or should not have any kind of skin disease.
The whole procedure  of  skin donation takes only about 30 – 45 minutes. Donor  need  not  be shifted to the operating room, hospital or ambulance. A special instrument called DERMATOME harvests skin, it is a battery-operated instrument made exclusively for skin harvesting only.
There is no bleeding from the site where skin if harvested from and there is no disfigurement to the body also. After the procedure,  bandage the parts from where skin is harvested in a proper way. 
No payment is made  to the Skin Donation Team, selling & buying organs is illegal . Any one’s skin can be transplanted on any one, there is no blood matching, no color matching, no age matching required. Once all the blood reports are negative the donor skin can be transplanted freely.

Dr Keswani drives late night to Lonavla to take out skin

A person about 90 year old came to Dr Sunil Keswani who pioneered concept of Skin Bank in India. He told him that he would like to donate his skin and put a condition that Dr Keswani only would remove it. Four years later the person died. His wife called Dr Keswani at around 2 am (late night). Dr Keswani drove his car to Lonavla where the person died. Completed the procedure and brought the skin. Dr Keswani’s wife tried to resist him that his staff that is equally skillfully would go and remove the skin but Dr Keswani insisted as the old man had expressed that Doctor himself would remove the skin. While narrating this incident, Dr Keswani became emotional. He says that this particular branch was not very profit making and normally the sufferers were from poor socio-economic group and unable to pay but he feels very happy when he treats them. He  doesn’t charge many times considering the patient’s condition.