The Establishment of a High Standard Skin Bank in Taiwan as a Burn Care Pioneer

Abstract

Introduction: The establishment of skin banks is especially important in providing crucial cadaveric skin for burn treatments. Although the 2015 Formosa Fun Coast Explosion Disaster resulted in tragic casualties, it raised public awareness of the importance of having a well-functioning skin bank and led to the initiation of a skin bank development project, as well as the establishment of the first high standard skin bank in Taiwan. Methods: We standardized the size of our procured skin to avoid broken or disrupted skin graft, fit properly on a Zimmer Dermacarrier® for mesh expansion, and to be convenient for storage. We also integrated gamma radiation with the glycerol stored skin method for our skin preservation which effectively eradicates all contamination. Results: From 2016 to 2020, 453,100 cm2 of skin were procured from 62 donors and stored in the NTUH skin bank; 254,000 cm2 of which were utilized in the treatment of 75 patients. Between 2016 and 2017, 141 microbiological examinations were administered with six were positive. Since the introduction of gamma radiation, no contamination has been observed hereafter in our examinations. Conclusions: We report the success of establishing a high standard and well-functioning skin bank at NTUH that supply sufficient skin allografts in Taiwan. It is the first interhospital supply of charitable skin allografts across Taiwan. Being humanitarian, our skin bank is passing great love forward.