Pilot survey among healthcare workers on skin donation

Abstract

Burn injuries place a significant burden on the healthcare system in South Africa. Early excision and management is the standard of care, and impacts upon survival in cases of large total body surface area burns. If the use of an autograft is limited owing to extensive burn injuries, cadavre skin is the gold standard for temporary management. A cadavre skin bank is needed in South Africa, and has not existed until very recently. Organ donation is increasing, while tissue donation is largely unknown, although tissue banking has been established in South Africa for cornea, bone and heart valves. The availability of tissue remains difficult. The high demand for tissue is not being met by current donations. South Africa is a rainbow nation, and varied cultural and religious considerations impact upon organ and tissue donation. A small number of healthcare workers were surveyed in order to gauge their willingness to become skin donors as part of research into the development of a campaign to raise awareness about skin donation.