The use of human deceased donor skin allograft in burn care

Jorge Leon-Villapalos, Mohamed Eldardiri, Peter Dziewulski

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

82 Scopus citations

Abstract

Burns are tissue wounds caused by thermal, electrical, chemical cold or radiation injuries. Deep injuries lead to dermal damage that impairs the ability of the skin to heal and regenerate on its own. Skin autografting following burn excision is considered the current gold standard of care, but lack of patient's own donor skin or unsuitability of the wound for autografting may require the temporary use of dressings or skin substitutes to promote wound healing, reduce pain, and prevent infection and abnormal scarring. These alternatives include deceased donor skin allograft, xenograft, cultured epithelial cells and biosynthetic skin substitutes. Allotransplantation is the transplantation of cells, tissues, or organs, sourced from a genetically non-identical member of the same species as the recipient. Human deceased donor skin allografts represent a suitable and much used temporizing option for skin cover following burn injury. The main advantages for its use include dermoprotection and promotion of reepithelialisation of the wound and their ability to act as skin cover until autografting is possible or re-harvesting of donor sites becomes available. Disadvantages of its use include the limited abundance and availability of donors, possible transmission of disease, the eventual rejection by the host and its handling storing, transporting and associated costs of provision. This paper will explore the role of allograft skin in burn care, defining the indications for its use in burn management and the future potential for allograft tissue banking.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)99-104
Number of pages6
JournalCell and Tissue Banking
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Burn injury
  • Human skin allograft

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomaterials
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Cell Biology
  • Transplantation

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