Skin Donation Information

Skin Donation Ok people…I know that we had some discussions, and questions about donating out skin to burn victims, Well I had the chance today to ask Dr Wainwright about this…I thought he was be a good source of info…since he does Plastics and Burn patients…. Wow just when you think, you might know about something the very first step you take is wrong, and it makes everything you thought wrong….. OK, Where do we start…When skin is harvested from a cadaver, they lay the body out, and run a machine over it, to peal the top layer off the skin..and that is what they use…Like collecting Sod…(sorry, but that was the visual that came to mind….) (My first error…I thought they would basically cut your skin off , like in a HellRaiser Movie..It never occurred to me that they only want part of the skin….) These people that collect these skins, work in volume.. it is an expensive time consuming process to collect skin. So when the go collect, and they are set up….they pretty much take all the skin off someone…. (My second error….They took 1 1/2 foot square off of me with my LBL. I thought that was a lot…. evidently not…they want a whole hide…not just a patchwork….) In between collecting from donors all the equipment is cleans and sterilized, and the grafts laid out…blah blah blah…. (third Error…I figured they just hacked the skin off, and threw it in a zip loc baggie, and processed it somewhere else….) this does explain, why burn victims, have their own skin transferred from other parts of their body….I should have thought of this…I have patients with grafts, and I look a the doner site, and it looks like someone took a potato peeler to them,,,and they know that it is compatible…and less chance of being rejected…. There are very few …Skin Banks…where they collect the skin, and store it, for future use… (another error…I though they would be very common, and bustling with business…some of these places are for profit, and some are not for profit…so cost is an issue too..having to pay for something, as opposed to recycling your own) Now he did say, that there are companies that will collect the skin, like they cut off of us, in a zip lock bag, and process it….but they generally have other procedures…. So I don’t think it’s fair to say, “They don’t want our leftovers” or “Our excess is not worthy of being used”…it’s more…with the procedures that are in place, it may not be practical, convient, or cost effective to use us…. I really hope that I got most of the details of this correct…at least I don’t feel unworthy… Hope this helps Russ

I used to be one of those people. I worked for the organ bank here in MA. I used to harvest tissue (bones, veins, ligaments, heart) and organs, and another team would do the skin. Yes they take a lot of skin off a cadaver. Probably about 75% depending on the situation.  The skin is used for more of a dressing than for skin grafts. There are regional skin banks. I know of the one in the Virginia area and of course the one up here in MA that cover all 6 New England states plus Bermuda.  You'd be amazed how big of an industry it is. I worked for the New England Organ Bank for a year, left becasue of burnout, and we had over 600 TISSUE harvests that year. I believe I was involved in about 250 or so. That does not include the ones the other team did or the organ harvests. They expect about 1500 this year just in NE alone. Of those 1500 they will probably take skin for 800-1000.

And, one more "trivia factoid." I had a skin graft for the first "closure" of my abdomen. They took about a 1’x14" square of the top layer Of my right thigh. My thigh was the most painful healing of all my ordeals. A big, nasty-azz scab- 1’x14"!!! For the first 5 months it felt like it was constantly Being stung by bees! Then, for another 6 months, Felt like it was being pressed with a stem iron. Now? 4 years later? Feels like someone sanded it raw, and dabbed a little Turpentine on it! The nerve ending are still not covered by as thick a layer of skin As they are intended to be. My doc said- "It’ll probably always "tingle a little." To that I have said, on a dozen or so occasions- "Tingle?! My Azz!" If ever a doctor says he’s going to do a skin graft, First question is- "And WHO? Other than ME, will be Donating this Skin?"

Once they have the thin layer, They run it through a cutter that makes all of these little Very regular cuts, so it can expand like a mesh- They spread that on the area for the skin to regrow and Fill in all of the tiny openings With new skin. The final scar looks like some bizzare Treated Alligator skin for a very soft boot. I only got to keep mine for a little over a half a year. They cut it back off when they rebvuilt my abdominal muscles. Really creepy...But.... It would have made a really cool wallet! I know, I know!! Way to Hannibal Lector..... Hellraiser Movie got me started.....sorry! So, did the doc give you the AOK on your progress? The thighs Good to Go? Best Wishes- Dx