Pakistan Opens First Skin Bank for Burn Patients at PIMS

Pakistan’s First Skin Bank: A Lifeline for Burn Patients

The Breakthrough Moment in Islamabad
In a landmark development for healthcare, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad has established the country’s first skin bank. For a country where severe burns are both common and devastating, this facility marks a new chapter. It is not just an innovation in technology; it is a lifeline for patients who previously had little hope when extensive skin damage occurred.

This skin bank will allow doctors to grow skin from small samples, preserve it for years, and graft it onto patients in need. It offers a revolutionary alternative to the painful, traditional practice of harvesting skin from the patient’s own unburnt areas.

Why Burns Are So Deadly
Burn injuries are among the most serious traumas doctors face. Patients with large body surface area burns encounter multiple threats:

• Fluid loss leading to shock and organ failure
  
  
• Infection risk from open wounds
  
  
• Systemic inflammation that can damage healthy tissues
  
  
• Scarring and contractures that permanently impair mobility
  

One of the biggest challenges has always been closing the wound quickly. Every open surface is a gateway to infection. Skin grafts are essential—but if 70–80% of the body is burned, there simply isn’t enough healthy skin left to harvest. That is where the concept of a skin bank becomes lifesaving.

What a Skin Bank Does
A skin bank functions like a biological savings account for patients:

1. Harvesting a Sample – A tiny piece of skin, as small as 2×2 cm, is taken from the patient.
   
   
2. Culturing in the Lab – That skin is placed in specialized media where cells multiply, forming sheets of new skin.
   
   
3. Storage – Once cultured, the skin can be stored in controlled conditions for up to five years.
   
   
4. Application – When the patient is stable and ready for grafting, surgeons use the cultured skin to cover burned areas.
   

This process means that even patients with massive burns have a chance for recovery without the need for extensive donor-site harvesting.

The PIMS Initiative
At PIMS, the Molecular Biology Department is leading this project. After stabilization, burn patients will undergo small biopsies that are sent to the lab. Once processed and expanded, the cultured skin will be grafted back.

The system is designed to be sustainable: once licensed and fully operational, the bank can serve not only Islamabad but burn patients across Pakistan. With careful expansion, it could even become a national network.

Advantages of the Skin Bank

1. Less Donor Site Damage
   Instead of cutting away healthy skin, doctors can rely on cultured grafts. This prevents new wounds on already fragile patients.
   
   
2. Faster Healing
   Early wound coverage reduces infection and sepsis, two of the leading killers in burn care.
   
   
3. Reduced Hospital Stay
   Faster closure means shorter ICU admissions and fewer complications, cutting costs overall.
   
   
4. Resource for Emergencies
   In large-scale accidents or disasters, stored skin grafts could provide immediate life-saving material.
   
   
5. Hope for Severe Cases
   For patients with 80–100% body burns, where survival was previously almost impossible, skin banking may provide a real fighting chance.
   

Challenges and Risks
Of course, innovation comes with hurdles:

• High cost of setup and maintenance – Specialized labs, growth media, and sterile environments require heavy investment.
  
  
• Strict quality control – Contaminated or poorly cultured skin grafts can fail catastrophically.
  
  
• Regulatory approval – Oversight is required to ensure ethical and safe use of stored tissues.
  
  
• Training needs – Surgeons, lab technicians, and nurses must all be trained in this new workflow.
  
  
• Access and equity – Will these grafts be available to poor patients, or only those who can pay? Ensuring fairness is critical.
  

A Doctor’s Perspective
As physicians, we know the agony of watching a patient with massive burns deteriorate, despite every effort. Fluid resuscitation, antibiotics, ventilatory support—none of it can overcome the barrier that an uncovered wound presents.

This is why a skin bank is not just technology—it is dignity, survival, and hope. It empowers us to treat where previously we could only palliate.

The first challenge is not scientific, but cultural: we must ensure our teams, our institutions, and our policymakers prioritize burn care as essential. The second challenge is sustainability: the bank cannot be a one-time project but must be integrated into Pakistan’s health system for decades to come.

What This Means for Healthcare Professionals

1. Burn surgeons will now have a new tool in their armamentarium, reducing reliance on autografts.
   
   
2. Emergency physicians can reassure families that viable long-term solutions exist.
   
   
3. Nurses will be critical in post-graft care, preventing infection and ensuring graft take.
   
   
4. Medical students should learn early that tissue engineering is no longer futuristic; it’s happening now in Islamabad.
   
   
5. Policy-makers should see this as a national priority, not a luxury.
   

Beyond Burns: Future Applications
Though primarily intended for burns, skin banking opens doors for other conditions:

• Chronic ulcers (diabetic, venous, pressure sores) could be treated with grafts.
  
  
• Reconstructive surgery for trauma or cancer resections could benefit.
  
  
• Cosmetic dermatology may eventually use cultured skin for grafts or scar revisions.
  

The Symbolism
This skin bank represents more than medicine—it symbolizes a new level of self-reliance. Pakistan now joins the ranks of countries using cutting-edge regenerative technology. For patients once told survival was impossible, it means hearing the words: “We have another option.”