The Indian Army has recently launched a skin bank facility for army personnel and their families to help treat severe skin burn injuries and other skin-related conditions.

The facility, the first of its kind established in the Armed Forces Medical Services, is staffed by trained medical professionals including plastic surgeons, tissue engineers and specialised technicians.

The skin bank will serve as a centralized hub for the collection, processing, storage and distribution of skin transplants, providing a “critical resource” for military medical centers across the country.

“As a part of our organ donation system, we have the Armed Forces Organ Retrieval System, it’s called AORTA (Army Organ Retrieval and Transplant Authority), and various organ donations are conducted, and this is the latest one…skin donation. It’s a licensed skin bank,” Lt Gen Ajith Neelakantan, Commandant, Army Hospital (R&R), told news agency PTI.

What is a skin bank?

A skin bank is a facility where donated skin from deceased individuals is deposited. Once received from the donor, the skin is tested for infection, processed, and frozen until needed.

When a burn victim needs skin for his injuries, a surgical procedure called skin grafting is performed.

What is a skin transplant?

Skin grafting is a simple procedure. It involves transplanting a piece of healthy skin to another part of the body where skin is damaged or missing. There are two main types of skin grafts: autografts (skin taken from another part of the patient’s own body) and allografts (skin taken from a donor, often from a skin bank).

The skin of a deceased person can be donated within six hours of death. This donated skin is then collected and processed in five to six weeks.

This process involves the following steps:

• Preparation: The damaged area is cleaned and prepared for the graft.
• Harvesting: A thin layer of healthy skin is removed from the donor site.
• Transplant: The harvested skin is carefully placed over the damaged area and secured.
• Therapeutic: The transplanted skin is monitored to make sure it adheres and integrates with the surrounding tissue.

Skin transplantation reduces mortality rates, increases chances of survival, and promotes better healing in patients. It also reduces the length of hospital stay and reduces the cost of treatment.

How is skin stored in a skin bank?

The skin stored in a skin bank must be donated within 6 months from the time of death.

Any person irrespective of gender or blood group can donate skin. The minimum age of the donor should be 18 years.

However, skin from individuals suffering from AIDS, hepatitis B and C, sexually transmitted diseases (STIs), skin cancer, active skin disease, and septicemia is considered unsuitable for donation.

Before the skin is removed, a blood sample is taken from the deceased person to check for infections such as HIV, viral markers and hepatitis.

The skin is usually preserved in an 85% glycerol solution. It is stored at between 4-5°C for up to 5 years.

Glycerol is a colorless, odorless, and sweet-tasting viscous liquid containing three hydroxyl (-OH) groups. It is obtained from various sources, such as natural fats and oils, and is used in a variety of applications.

North India’s first skin bank will be set up at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi in 2023. The other 16 skin bank centres in the country are in Maharashtra, Chennai, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.