The King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Parel has set up a skin bank to provide a new lease of life to underprivileged burn patients. It is the second civic-run hospital in Mumbai, after the Sion Hospital, to start a skin bank.“We have set up a state-of-the-art skin bank in the hospital which will be inaugurated on Thursday,” said Dr Sangeeta Rawat, dean of the hospital.
In 2000, Dr Madhuri Gore, then head of surgery at Sion Hospital, advocated starting the bank. An amniotic membrane bank is functioning at the Wadia Hospital in Parel, as is a tissue bank at the Tata Memorial Hospital, also in the neighbourhood. Skin donation helps in the treatment of severely burned patients. When the skin gets badly burned or damaged, it is unable to repair itself. For patients with severe burns, by covering the wound with allografts–skin from a donor. The skin helps to prevent infections, decrease pain and provide protection, and also helps in faster healing. If the burnt area is not immediately covered with donated skin, then patients can develop infection, leading to death. The KEM Hospital along with the regional-cum-state organ and tissue transplant organisation (ROTTO-SOTTO) and the NGO Jewelex Foundation will sensitise people to the need for donating skin.