There is an article in today's Boston Globe about a woman in the city I work in who had a tummy tuck done and the skin was donated to an organization who collects it for burn and cancer patients (among others). Now it did NOT say it paid for the surgery - I believe that is up to you but it is about a surgeon within 20 minutes of where I live who is the only one in this state to perform live-skin donations. The first one was done in New Hampshire in 2005 and to date 326 have been done across the country. The idea came from the number of WLS people who called to ask if donations were taken. Surgeons seeking skin grafts for more complicated surgeries are seeking more and more skin and the need exceeds the tissue harvested from dead donors. It is still an evolving process - according to this article and only about 69 surgeons across the country do it. There is a website you can go to and apply but they ask the name of your surgeon and the date of your surgery (meaning tummy tuck I believe) so it is purely a donation at this point (they cannot pay or charge for donations - it is illegal). This does however give hope as the need is now there so perhaps the financial end will become more appealing. AT the very least - if you can afford the surgery there is now the possibility that you can help others by setting up a donation.
Interesting, and a great idea. Off-topic a little, the daughter of one of my friends was badly burned last month, and they took small amounts of her unburned skin and are - somehow - able to grow new skin that will be "her" skin, so will graft well. Isn't science amazing?
Excess Skin Donation is a Reality
