Dubai to have skin bank next year

Dubai will have a large skin bank by mid2019, a first of its kind facility in the Middle East, said a top official of the Dubai Health Care Corporation (DHC). The bank which has received a Sharia clearance will be set up within the Rashid Hospital complex.

The recently formed organisation under the umbrella of Dubai Health Authority (DHA) will streamline all the health investment strategies and forge public private partnerships to fast track health care delivery and make Dubai a world class medical tourism destination.

Elaborating on the facility, Dr Younis Al Kazim, CEO of DHC said: “The bank has been initiated by the plastic surgery department of Rashid Hospital. Patients who receive over 80 per cent burns have little chance of survival as they have no site for grafting. In cases like this dermal grafts taken from donors, especially patients of bariatric surgery can be used and provide a great chance of healing and survival for these patients.”

Dr Al Kazim added that donor skin grafts are also very effective in cancer patients who require extensive reconstruction. “Skin grafts will be preserved in incubators and used for patching by the burns and plastic surgery units and also be used by other DHA hospitals.”