White Island eruption: Kiwis offer to donate own skin to victims

A victim of the White Island eruption is loaded into a rescue helicopter following Monday's eruption. Photo / Alan Gibson

Caring Kiwis have been offering to donate their own skin to help the victims of the White Island eruption - unaware that it can only be sourced from deceased people.

Organ Donation New Zealand, which helps co-ordinate skin donation, was contacted by several people yesterday and several more this morning.

The country's burns units have been at full capacity since Monday's eruption, with clinicians working around the clock to treat the nearly 30 people injured.

As at today, 23 patients remained in New Zealand, all with burns covering more than 30 per cent of their bodies, and some with burns covering all but five per cent.

Such was the demand for donor skin that 120sq m of skin was needed; as the average person has around 2sq m, this equated to about 60 bodies' worth.

in New Zealand, only five to 10 people donate skin each year, so donated skin was having to be sourced from other countries - most of it from the United States.

The skin - which was kept in storage of minus 70C - was being transported to New Zealand in special frozen storage.

Surgeons, who had so far spent more than 500 hours operating on patients, were also having to deal with complexities of chemical burns, rather than thermal burns that are usually involved.

Skin - the largest organ of the human integumentary system - contained up to seven layers of ectodermal tissue and guards our underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and internal organs.

It played a crucial immunity role in protecting the body against pathogens and excessive water loss, while also helping regulate temperature, insulation and vitamin D synthesis.

In typical burn cases, surgeons use autografts, or skin taken from the patient's own body.

The two main types used in permanent burns are sheet grafts, where a piece of skin is taken from an unburned part of the body and stapled in place over the clean wound, or meshed grafts, where the harvested skin is specially stretched to cover a larger area.

Where donated skin is needed - called an allograft or homograft - it's normally used to temporary cover cleaned wounds, before the autograft is placed.

People of all ages could be skin donors and donated skin was the preferred dressing for people with severe burns, an Organ Donation NZ spokesperson explained.

Although there were synthetic alternatives to skin available, donor skin was still regarded as the gold standard of dressings.

This was because it was effective at protecting wounds, reducing scarring and allowing time for the patient's own skin to grow back.

"Being able to cover a large burn with real skin is not a cosmetic exercise it is a lifesaving one."

Organ Donation NZ worked with the NZ Skin Bank, managed by the NZ Blood Service, to facilitate the donation of skin tissue following a donor's death - and live skin donation wasn't currently possible.

Once donated, skin could be stored at the NZ Skin Bank in Auckland for up to five years.

"Some people might wonder what their family member will look like after a skin donation," the spokesperson said.

"A paper thin layer of skin is removed from the front and back of the thighs only. This means that the area can be covered and the donation does not interfere with the person's appearance so an open casket is still possible.

"We don't currently have enough skin donors in New Zealand, more are needed.

"If you want to be a skin donor following your death, have a conversation with your family about donation and let them know what organs and tissues you would want to donate."