The SGH Skin Bank and Skin Culture Laboratory was set up in 1991 to meet the skin graft needs of burn patients. Located within the SGH Burns Centre, its supporting role to the treatment of massive burn injuries is getting indispensible. This is because donor skin allograft (skin from an organ donor), procured and preserved by the Skin Bank, is deemed as one of the best temporary biological dressing for massive and serious burn injury.
However over the years, the supply of donor skin recovered was not sufficient to meet the demand of massive burn cases. There were instances when the SGH Skin Bank had to urgently request for skin allograft from tissue banks in Australia and the United States.
This is why increasing awareness and public education is important. An increased awareness of skin donation will hopefully increase the number of local skin donors overtime.
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