Skin Donation

[Goodbye Chubby]

I just read an article about a woman who quickly lost weight and donated her excess skin. It never occured to me that that was possible. It sounds similar to getting a hair cut and donating your hair to Locks of Love (in principle, at least). Here's the link, and I'll copy/paste the text.

http://www.nbc11.com/news/9646282/detail.html

LOS ANGELES -- It is said that one person's loss can be another's gain.

That is certainly true for a Southern California woman who lost 145 pounds and donated her excess skin to help other patients who need it, NBC affiliate KNBC reported.

Sheila Tehrani just got a new car, but she can't take the wheel just yet.

"My abdomen is just in the way, the skin is just in the way and it wouldn't be safe or comfortable," said Tehrani.

Sheila stopped driving in 1996 because at 579 pounds she couldn't fit into her car anymore.

Finally, she decided to get lap band surgery, which restricted the size of her stomach.

One year later, and 145 pounds lighter, Sheila continues to drop weight.

Doctors said the rapid weight loss resulted in a lot of loose skin. The sheer weight of the hanging skin is causing backaches and numbness in her legs.

Doctors at the oBand Surgery Center offered to remove the skin for her.

In May, Sheila underwent a four-hour surgery and had close to 50 pounds of skin removed.

She donated that skin to the non-profit Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation, which will use that excess skin to help other patients undergoing hernia operations, breast and pelvic floor reconstruction.

After six weeks of recovery Sheila finally got into her new car and drove for the first time in 10 years.

"It's very liberating being able to maybe go back to school or to get a job. I think it will change my life a great deal," said Tehrani.

Last year, more than 200,000 patients received skin grafts donations from weight loss patients.

[Meg]

I've always heard that it's an urban legend that you can donate excess skin, so I'm puzzled. I certainly don't believe that 200,000 number - perhaps they're confusing it with skin grafts generally since nowhere close to 200,000 WLS patients even have excess skin removal in a year. I've always read that skin grafts use cadaver skin because our excess skin is stretched out and not very desirable.

I'll see if I can find out more info. ;)

[Meg]

I found these through a quick Google search:

From the director of the University of Michigan Skin Bank (http://www.transweb.org/reference/articles/donation/excess_skin_donation.html):

Question:
I recently lost a great deal of weight and I have a lots of excess skin. Can I donate my excess skin to a skin bank to help burn patients? Will a tissue bank pay for my skin reduction surgery if I agree to donate my tissue?

Answer:
These questions are asked quite often by individuals who have lost large amounts of weight and have excess skin folds. We appreciate your desire to donate. However, this kind of donation is unworkable. Allow me to explain why, and to give you an alternative.

Our tissue bank does not obtain skin from these patients for several reasons. First, this method of obtaining skin is cost prohibitive. The amount of transplantable tissue obtained from tissue reduction surgery is minimal when compared to the amount of tissue obtained from a cadaveric (deceased) tissue donor. The procurement costs would be much greater as it would require the services of doctors, nurses, anesthetists, and other health care professionals as well as the use of an operating room and other hospital services. Cadaveric donation requires only trained tissue recovery technicians, and they can procure tissue after the body has been sent to the morgue (rather than in an operating room), thus keeping expenses to a minimum.

Additionally, cadaveric donated tissue can be used for transplant soon after recovery (as soon as quality assurance testing is complete), but the FDA requires that tissues recovered from living donors must be placed into quarantine for six months. At the end of six months, all serologic testing (HIV and Hepatitis) must be repeated before that tissue can be used.

It is virtually impossible to obtain a skin graft from tissue than has been removed during tissue reduction surgery. The usual procedure for tissue reduction surgery involves the removal of skin and underlying attached tissues, but skin grafts used for transplant are only 15/1000 (0.015) of an inch thick and do not include these underlying tissues. Skin grafts for transplant are procured by the use of a surgical device called a dermatome, which peels off a very thin (0.015 inch), uniform layer of skin, and it only works on skin that is stretched taut over and firmly attached to muscles, such as in the back, arms, and legs. Very few people have an abdomen taut enough to permit skin tissue recovery. Skin folds (such as those removed when someone has lost a large amount of weight) lack the firm attachment to underlying tissues, and so the dermatome can't work properly.

I do not know of any tissue bank that would pay for a donor's tissue reduction surgical expenses for the purpose of obtaining skin for transplantation.

I would like to encourage you to be sure that your family knows you would like to donate your tissues upon death. Your gift can save lives and greatly reduce suffering. ( click here to learn more about skin and also learn about the tissue shortage).

Tom Taddonio
Director, University of Michigan Skin Bank

From the American Burn Association (http://www.ameriburn.org/pub/December05Newsletter/Announcements.htm):

Skin Donations
The ABA frequently receives calls from individuals who have lost a large amount of weight and wish to donate their excess skin to burn patients. While we appreciate their intentions, this type of donation usually will not help burned patients, since skin grafts require a very thin, uniform layer of skin and must be obtained from taut skin that is firmly attached to muscle, such as skin from a donor’s back. Skin removed after drastic weight loss is not firmly attached to underlying tissues and cannot be removed properly. If your burn center receives such calls, please thank the prospective donor for their offer, but explain to them why such donations cannot be used to help burn patients.

So I'm still puzzled by the story unless this is something new? :?:

[bbobsgrl]

I just saw a story featured on our local news a couple of nights ago about a woman having 50 lbs. of excess skin removed. The skin was donated and accepted for various solutions. I'll check to see if I can find the story on the web and will post a link.