UP: Skin Bank to come up at SRN hospital at cost of Rs 3.6 crore

Prayagraj: For the first time in the city, The Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) hospital under MLN Medical college will soon have a skin bank to treat burn injury patients.

Skin banking is a facility where the skin is collected from eligible deceased donors and processed as per international protocols. 

Skin can be stored in the skin bank at -4 to -8° c for up to 5 years. The stored skin can be used for Burns patients, Orthopedic Trauma patients, Non-Healing Ulcers, Pressure-Source and other Exfoliating Skin Disorders (TENS).

The state government has received the proposal in this regard and soon the bank will be set up at the burn unit of the hospital which is currently under construction. The state government allocated a budget of Rs 3.6 crores to establish the 26-bedded burn unit as part of the state government's Rani Lakshmi Bai Mahila Samman Yojana and the Central Government's National programme of prevention and management of burn injuries.

Also read- Goa Medical College To Get A Skin Bank For Patients With Extensive Burns

Dr Mohit Jain head of the department of plastic surgery, MNL Medical College told TOI, "Just like voluntary eye donation after death, skin can also be donated. A thin layer of skin is harvested within six hours of the death of the donor. After proper testing, the skin is stored in a skin Bank at -70° c and can be stored for a period of one year. This can be used for patients having large areas affected by burn injury."

"When the burnt skin is removed due to a deep burn injury the skin stored in a skin bank is applied over the wound. This helps in saving the life of the patient as the skin stays for 10-12 days, which are the most critical days for the burn patient. This can prevent water loss, infection and pain and is extremely advantageous for the survival of burn patients," he added.

Also read- Tamil Nadu: First Skin Bank To Open Soon At Stanley Medical College And Hospital

As per the 2016 survey, in India, around 7 million people suffer from burn injuries each year with 1.4 lakh deaths and 2.4 lakh people suffering from a disability. Burn death rates have been decreasing in high-income countries.

The National Programme for Prevention, Management and Rehabilitation of Burn Injuries (NPPMRBI) is an initiative by the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India to strengthen the preventive, curative and rehabilitative services for burn victims.

In India from 2000-2009, only one skin bank in Mumbai was operational at that time. However, the government has now made 16 additional skin banks in 5 different states including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.