The first ‘Skin Bank’ of Chhattisgarh became operational at the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital and Research Centre, Sector 9, the main hospital of the Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Bhilai in Durg district.
Apart from it, the JLN Hospital and Research Centre will be the first institute for cadaveric tissue transplant in the state. Anirban Dasgupta, Director-in-Charge of BSP, inaugurated the facility on Saturday, an official communication said.
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer and the Medical Head of Skin Bank, Dr Anirudh Mene, said the skin bank is the first of its kind in Chhattisgarh. It is the fifth in the country after Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kochi.
He said the Centre has all the necessary equipment, Six staffers of the Burn Department of BSP were trained at the Skin Bank of National Burn Centre, Mumbai. The manual for the entire process has been made.
The Centre has been started after approval from a four-member inspection team of the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTO), Chhattisgarh. The registration number issued will be valid for five years.
Dr. Uday Kumar, Additional CMO of Burn Unit, said the Skin Bank will prove to be a boon for severely burnt patients through skin transplant and plastic surgery.
Generally, the upper layer of the skin of the patient’s leg or back is removed and is then stored in 50 percent glycerol and incubator in the skin bank. This skin can be stored at 4 degrees for about 5 years, he said.
Also, skin will be harvested from the donor's body within a limited time after his death.