Skin can be donated within 6 hours from the time of death, and perhaps more if the body is in a cold storage. Many people do not realise that skin can be donated in the same manner as corneas, organs or tissues upon a person’s death. Donor skin can be effectively frozen and stored for long periods, up to five years. Cities in India such as Mumbai, which have a Skin Bank, can store the donor skin and make it available to all the burn victims who need it. The skin is only taken from the back, thighs and legs and does not in any way disfigure the body.

On receiving intimation in event of death, the crew from the Skin Bank (if there is one in your city) can reach the location of the body, and in a simple procedure that takes just around 45 minutes, remove the skin from the back, abdomen and the legs. There are 8 layers of skin, but only 1/8th, i.e. the uppermost layer of the skin is harvested. Skin Harvesting is performed by skin donation teams consisting of one doctor, two nurses and one attendant. The thickness of the skin removed is very small and there is no disfigurement of the body. The Skin Bank Team will come to the donor’s home, hospital or morgue – wherever the donor is kept. There is no need to shift the donor to the operating room, hospital or ambulance.

Following is the procedure followed by the National Burns Centre Mumbai, in case of a skin donation.

• Upon death of a possible donor, the next of his/her authorised kin needs to inform the BURNS HELPLINE of National Burns Centre (NBC): 022-27793333 (active 24/7).
• Upon receiving such a call, after checking for cause of death and contraindications, the skin retrieval team will reach the place of death in a specialised Burns Ambulance. Death Certificate and Consent of the relative is taken.
• Then, the retrieval team harvests the skin of the donor only from the legs, thighs and back with a special instrument called DERMATOME. Only one eighth of the thickness of the skin is harvested so there is no disfiguring of the body at all. It is not even visible to the people who will come to pay their homage as after harvesting, the area is bandaged and the donor’s body is handed over to the next of kin.
• This Procedure takes only about 45 minutes.