Skin bank at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, to be inaugurated on July 15

Kerala’s first skin bank is ready at the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram. The facility has secured approval from the Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (K-SOTTO) for receiving skin through skin donation, Health Minister Veena George said on Saturday.

The inauguration of the facility has been scheduled for July 15 to coincide with the World Plastic Surgery Day observance.

Skin banks are a valuable asset in the treatment of burn victims and patients with severe skin injuries. Skin banks collect and store skin from donors. The skin bank at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College has been constructed at a cost of ₹6.75 crore. The skin is stored in specific temperatures and systems. In situations where the skin of a patient who is being treated for burn injuries cannot be used, the bank can be resorted to for skin grafts, the Minister said.

The burns unit at the medical college functions under the Plastic Surgery department. Ms. George said that efforts are also on to establish a similar skin bank at the Government Medical College, Kottayam.

The State government also has plans to open more burns units across the State and standardise them, the Health Minister said.

Steps have been taken to open burns units at the medical colleges in Kollam, Alappuzha and Kannur. Plastic surgery departments were started at these medical colleges during the current government’s term. The medical colleges in Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam, and Thrissur and the general hospitals in Ernakulam and Kollam already have burns units.