Shelly says: Your post about donating hair to Locks of Love reminded me of this article about donating extra skin. Can this be for real?
The Left Brain responds:
It’s true. Researchers have figured out a way to “recycle” excess skin from weight loss operations into usable grafts to help with a number surgical procedures. Since the supply of skin from recently deceased donors isn’t enough to fill the surgical demand, the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation, the nations largest tissue bank, is now working with almost 70 surgeons around the country on a new living skin donation program.
How does living skin donation work?
When you’re having a tummy tuck or any other procedure that involves skin removal, you can chose to donate the skin for surgical use. After the skin is removed from your body, it’s prepared for its new home. First it must be stripped of fat; even though you may have lot of weight your skin can still contain excess fat. Then, other cells must be removed to prevent the recipient from rejecting the new tissue, as frequently occurs in organ transplants. The remaining slabs of skin are known as a collagen matrix.
These slabs are then cut and shaped into pieces that can be used in surgical procedures. The final pieces are packaged, frozen, and stored for distribution.
Once the harvested skin reaches the hospital, it is implanted in its new body so the collagen matrix can act as a scaffolding that the patients’ bodies use to regrow skin of their own.
What is living skin used for?
Living skin donations can be used for a variety of procedures, like reconstructing breasts after mastectomy, repairing abdominal walls from hernias, building bladder slings to control incontinence, and reshaping facial features damaged by cancer.
Researchers are still learning how to use living skin in place of cadaver skin. Cadaver skin is better for treating burn victims because it’s easier to shave off thin sheets of skin when it’s still attached to the body. Living skin requires new tools and new procedures that are still being developed.
So if you’re going ahead with that tummy tuck because you’re not satisfied with the weight loss from that new diet pill Alli /, you might want to consider living skin donation.
Source: Boston.com
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{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
This was fascinating and the end result is clearly so beneficial for the recipient.
But I sure am glad I don’t have the job of preparing “the collagen matrix”. EEEWWW!
I have a friend who has lost 200+lbs as a result of gastric by-pass surgery. She is happy with the weightloss but unhappy with the excess skin. She unfortunatly does not have an insurance policy that will pay for the removal of the excess skin. My question is this, is there a program out there that will remove her excess skin to use for donation free of charge?
I have a friend that has lost alot of weight through surgery, where/when can she donate her extra skin
I live in Delaware and I recently had weighy loss surgery. I was wondering if their is any places around delaware where you can go to for excess skin removal for free. My insurance will now pay for it.
I live in Delaware and I recently had weighy loss surgery. I was wondering if their is any places around delaware where you can go to for excess skin removal for free. My insurance will not pay for it.
I have lost 106 pounds I have an extra lap of good tissue, where can I check into the free tummy tuck/skin donation? In KY preferrably
i just lost about 130 pound i would like to know if there is a place that can help to remove the excess skin for free or at a cheaper price
Is there a place that would give you free surgery for excessive skin after weight loss? I am on disability and have lost a lot and I have excessive skin that because of my disability I am unable to do excercises that stress my lower lumbar. I actually get probs from the hanging skin. Please e-mail & let me know.
Where can I find a place on the east coast that will do the surgery,but that does not cost an arm and a leg?
Hi my name is millie and i had the gastric-by-pass done 4 years ago i lost 250 pounds i have a lot of saggie skin i am going thru a servior depression and i am under medication due to the promise the doctor told me that i would have the surgery done after i got better to remove all the extra skin and then he said that since i had medicaid and medicare that it wouldn’t cover the surgery so i am very depress due to the fact that i only get 612 a month from ssi so i would never be able to aford surgery so then i did a little investigating and i was told that i can donate my extra skin for burn victoms so is there any truth to this before i get my hopes up because i don’t think i can go thru this any more so can you please help me
I have several friends who had the gastric surgery done and would like to donate thier excess skin. Unfortunately thier insurance will not pay for it. Is there someplace that will remove the skin for free with it being donated? Preferrably in Illinois or surrounding states.
Can you give me any more information on this? Ive lost about 100 pounds just by walking and great excersize, I would love to donate my excess skin also in process getting what i want. I can run about two miles and removing the excess will help me reach my goal of running in a marathon!! Preferably I would like to find someone in Northern Wisconsin or Northern Minnesota. Thank you!
I had gastric bypass going on 4 years, and I have alot of etra skin as well especially below the belly button area. I would love to donate the skin and have it go to some good use. But is there ANY company or organization that would pay for it? and then in return get the skin they need. I’m desperate. It is really become a breaking point in my life. Please help.
I have a question,Is there a way that I can get my extra skin removed and my insurance will pay for it.I want to donate the extra skin to wome ever needs it.As of now my skin gets infected where they made the insishions (sorry cant spell..LOL).If anyone can help please email me back at [email protected]
I am also looking to free excess skin removal. I to lost almost two hundred pounds and have repeated after repeated infection and need this skin off. They can do whatever they want with me make good use of it for others but if they can get it off me would be great.
I had gastric bypass a year and a month ago. I am down almost 140 lbs. I have 30-50 more pounds until I hit my goal weight. With all my excess skin I am worried I am gonna start getting infections and other things. I would love to get this skin taken care of and donate it if at all possible.
I want to donate and yep insurance wont pay. Are there places that will take it off for free or cheaper or do you have to give up an arm and a leg to help someone out.
One of my friends told me that there are doctors who will do a tummy tuck or whatever skin removal surgery that you’d like for free if you do it in agreeance to donate the tissue. Does anyone know anything about this and if so, names PLEASE…after 3 c-sections, well, its not pretty and why not fix what I don’t want and give it to someone who needs it?
I had a Gastric bypass 4 yrs. ago and had major complications !!! I went from 495lbs. to less than 89lbs. in 8 months. As a result I became ill with Guillen Barrete Syndrome !! I need some help now and would like to have some help to remove the excess skin ? Is there some one out there who can help me ?? I am now on Medi-cal and Medi-care. I am now disabled an d recieve SSI. PLease help me !!!!!
I see there are alot of people who is looking for free excess skin removal. So am i so if anyone have any information to share please send me a email. I live in the houston, texas area but willing to go wherever the service is. If there a doctor that willing to do it on a payment plan im open to that also r a doctor who can enter the correct code and except my insurance . Please anyone have any information share it please.
I too had Bypass and in the same no insurance, extra skin boat, any info on reduced fee, free skin removal for donation would be helpful email me [email protected]
I had weight loss surgery and live in Louisiana and would like to know where I can donate my extra skin
I lost 200 pounds with gastric bypass I would like to donate skin and my insurance will not pay I live in southern Ca. can you tell me where to go?
I too had Bariactric Surgery and lost 120 pounds. I am also in a financial situation that will not allow me to have the skin removal surgery. Is there any where in Ohio or near by that will do this surgery for the skin donation?
I AM A 32 YEAR OLD FEMALE AND HAD GASTRIC BYPASS JANUARY 31 OF 2009. TO DATE I HAVE LOST OVER 230 POUNDS AND THOUGH I AM STILL YOUNG WEIGHING 410 POUNDS AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE HAS DEFINATELY TAKEN A TOLL ON MY SKIN. NOW THAT I HAVE LOST THE WEIGHT AND AM HAPPY WITH WHERE I AM WEIGHT WISE I KNOW DEEP DOWN I WILL NEVER BE HAPPY WITH MY BODY BECAUSE OF THE HANGING SAGGING EXTRA SKIN AND LIKE THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD I HAVE NO WAY OF COMING UP WITH THE MONEY TO HAVE IT REMOVED. IF THERE IS ANYONE WHO KNOWS OF A PLACE THAT WOULD REMOVE IT FREE OR AT A DISCOUNTED PRICE I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO DONATE IT TO EITHER BURN PATIENTS OR TO SCIENCE TO BE USED AS NEEDED. I MEAN I’VE HAD IT FOR 32 YEARS AND HAVEN’T FOUND A USE FOR IT YET SO MAYBE THERE’S SOMEBODY IN THIS WORLD WHO COULD FIND A USE FOR IT! PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY AND ALL INFO CONCERNING THIS MATTER. YOUR TIME AND RESPONSES WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED THANK YOU! [email protected]
Has anyone gotten any responses about skin removal??? if so email me [email protected] . i have several people who are interested !!
thanks
I AM A 39 YEAR OLD MOTHER OF FIVE. I HAVE EXCESS SKIN AROUND
THE ABDOMIN THAT I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO GET REMOVED. NO MY INSURANCE WONT PAY FOR IT. AS YOU KNOW WITH AS MANY KIDS THAT I HAVE ITS HARD TO COME UP WITH MONEY SOMETHING LIKE THIS. I AM YOUNG AND HEALTHY AND WOULD LIKE TO REMOVE THE BURDEN AROUND MY ABDOMIN. IT MAKES ME LOOK FATTER THAN I REALLY AM. AS YOU CAN SEE IM NOT THE ONLY ONE GOING THROUGH THIS. ISNT THERE ANYTHING SOMEONE CAN DO TO HELP US. I WOULD DONATE THIS EXTRA SKIN IF IT WOULD HELP ME GET RID OF IT AND HELP SAVE ANOTHER PERSON AT THE SAME TIME. PLEASE EMAIL ME IF THERE IS ANY IMFORMATION THAT WOULD HELP
hi there i am a mom of four and i have lost weight but i cant get rid of the fat in the front of my stomach i would so love to donate my skin is there an doctor out there that would be willing to do the surgery for free on me and you can have all the skiin you want .lol i really would like to know more about this you can email at [email protected] i dont have insurance and this would benefit more than me thank you
I have had weight loss surgery and have excess skin on my arms and stomach; I would like to donate the skin; however I am on disability and can’t aford the surgery; do you know of a program that can help?
i needed extre skin removed…lost alot a weight…..or caLL 713-503-1339
i was woundering if anyone knows where there is a center where they do the donation of skin we live in maryland near baltimore and washington dc. if anyone can help…im trying to help my sister whom weighs over 500lbs
Hi there
I am trying to help my brother in-law. Does anyone know a doctor or center in Tampa, Florida that would remove the excess fat around his stomach for free and he would donate the excess skin to help burn victims. He does not have insurance. Please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]
Thank you
Marlene
i have a friend she does not have insurance and does not have money to pay for a surgery and she has allot of extra skin because she is over wheight and wants to donate it to any one who wants it she just wants to get it off her body and she wants to know who & where she can donate the extra skin she does not want
I have had gastric bypass surgery over a year ago and my insurance company WILL NOT pay for excessive skin removal. Please does anyone know who removes it for free or at a discount in the Green Bay Packer area of Wisconsin or any where really I live on the border of Michigan and Wisconsin. So, if you know of something that can help me out please contact me. I am left with bat wing and thighs that jiggle and get infected.
I gain nearly 100lbs with my 3 babies that i knew i could not raise just to make sure they were healthy even though everyone told me to get abortions. Birthcontrol does not work on me which runs in the family but i wasnt aware of since i do not have a relationship with my mother whom gave me up when i was 6yrs old so she could keep her bill paying boyfriends because they were molesting me. I am very insecure and go to tears when i have sex with my partner and ruined my modeling opportunity because my six pack now looks like droopy cottage cheese. My life is crazy and i know i’m beautiful on the inside but want so badly to find myself sexually attractive so i can atleast enjoy having sex or not have to wear long shirts. I heard about free tummy tucks but don’t know how to get one. I’m 25 and want to enjoy my young body while i can.
[email protected] is my email if someone can please help my find a plastic surgeon that can and will help me get a free tummy tuck.
Please let me know about the free tummytuck for donating skin. I would definetly be happy . Thank You.
I am from Michigan and have lost 60 lbs and would love a free tummy tuck to donate my skin/fat. Please let me know how and where? I am willing to travel.
need to have excess skin removed after gastric bypass in2008 but insurance will not pay for it s their any hoe i live in Louisiana
that was a typo is their any hope
I see I am not alone in my search for extra skin removal after massive weight loss.. is there any hope out there for those of us that have NO medical insurance… its not a vanity issue, it is causing mobility problems.. throwing my back out of alignment
I need HELP… thank you for any information you can help me with
I live in Houston, Tx and I would like to know how to donate living skin to help people in whatever they may need. my excess skin is on my upper thighs and upper arms. i was told by my plastic surgery doctor to see if there were any hospital or company that does this and if so, to give his name and number and he has other patients that he knows would be more than happy to donate their live skin after their surgeries.
Thank you,
Deborah Marrow
I see I’m not the only one in the same boat here! Deborah, I’ve been researching all day today on this issue and I’m surprised that your surgeon asked YOU to find out where he could send your skin. Hopefully what I’ve found today will help you out. From what I have read today surgeon’s have to be registered in order to harvest skin to donate. Take a look at the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation at http://mtf.org/donor/living_skin.html. The instructions state this: Have your doctor contact the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation at 800-581-2804, or call them yourself. I copied that instruction from the ehow website. From their website there is a form you can fill out along with a whole bunch of other information.
However, the reason I’ve been researching is because along with many of you here I am unable to afford to have my excess skin removed. I had bypass in July 2006. Top weight of 386 lbs, lost 256 lbs in 15 months. I lost it so fast that no matter how much I excercised or hydrated the skin just couldn’t catch up! I was 25 when I started looking into having gastric bypass but didn’t have it until I was 40. There were several reason’s I waited: 1. I wanted to try every possible means to do it on my own. I tried every fad, pill, powder, even had a ‘balloon’ put in my stomach at one point! Was considered a safer alternative to surgery..I was 19 when I did that. It was called the “gastric bubble”. LOL! I haven’t talked to anyone else who has done that! Reason 2: I wanted to watch to progression of the surgery…higher success…less mortality, hoping one day it would be done laproscopically. Reason 3: I wanted to be able to donate my excess skin to burn victims. Up until recent years there was no way to harvest skin & preserve it for later use. I’ve been an organ donor since the age of 12 due to a brain tumor my little brother had that killed the pituatary gland. He needed all the hormones that the pituatary gland produced & the only way of getting it was it had to be retreived from the deceased rapidly after passing. There were no synthetic forms at the time & he had to have 3 shots a week. I can’t remember how many ‘donors’ it took to fulfill those 3 shots. I learned then how very important it was to be a donor so truly one of my first thoughts when thinking about bypass was knowing there would be excess skin because of rapid weight loss so it was only logical to me that I needed to wait for progress in that area before going forward. Well, in 2004 I twisted by knee dancing to ‘hiphop’ music….even at almost 400 lbs I was extremely active and had no other medical problems. Doctor’s were often stunned when my bp was low, my cholesteral was low, my heart was healthy…so on and so on….Unfotunately, my knee did not want to heal. I had it MRI’d to see if something was torn…and sure enough it was a simple strain that couldn’t heal because of my weight. I ended up having injection’s done in my knee so I could stay active. About a year later I decided enough was enough. The injections weren’t helping as much as they did in the beginning & it was getting harder to stay active. I approached my doctor about having bypass surgery. He felt I was a good candidate with exception that I had no real underlying medical problems so I probably wouldn’t be approved. About the same time I was taken off work due to injuries to my arms..work related..and my insurance changed. With all this going on I started having anxiety attacks, mobility was becoming a major issue & depression was sitting in. So, I approached my doctor again about gastric bypass. He agreed it was time & sent in the request along with adding that I had some ‘qualifying’ medical conditions…my knee became arthritis, my anxiety became hypertension, and then the depression spoke for itself. I had a wonderful doctor! He knew I had truly tried and tried over the years. The company I worked for changed insurance companies again right in the middle of waiting for approval and jumping through the hoops! I was still off work from my arm injuries, unable to do anything..I was ordered no lifting, no typing, no scrubbing…basically told not to use my arms for anything strenuous! I went from being extremely active to sitting doing nothing! It got to where I could barely walk the 30 ft from the bed to the bathroom! I asked my doctor to try again. In January 2006 my doctor sent in a request for the Lap Band, the thought behind this was that it is a much less expensive procedure & the experience he had with the new insurance company I had was pretty good on approving the Lap Band. A couple weeks after he sent the request we both got a big surprise…..He received a letter from the insurance company denying the Lap Band and approving a consultation with a Gastric Bypass surgeon! There reason was I was too obese to be a successful candidate for the Lap Band & a perfect candidate for Gastric Bypass! No hoops to jump through, no six months of Weight Watchers or seeing a nutritionist….they set me up with an appointment to see the surgeon in February. My doctor had sent all my documentation of all the different programs I had been on, the nutritionists I had worked with & the trainers I had worked with over the years and that was good enough for them. The only place they would approve was 300 miles from home but highly recommended. When it came time for my appointment my husband ended up in the hospital & we couldn’t go. I rescheduled but they couldn’t get me in until May 2006. We went down met with the internal medicine doctor, the surgeon, & then a psych consult. After all 3 appointments I met with their insurance co-ordinator. She told me that more than likely I would be ‘denied’ but not to worry she already has standard letters set up that she customizes for each patient to ‘fight’ for approval. She told me that it would probably be 8 to 12 weeks before I would hear from here. I was okay with that….2 weeks later I received a phone call from her. I said “wow, that was fast they already denied me?” She said with a giggle “Well, not exactly, I didn’t even have to fight for you…I’m calling to schedule surgery!” I was speechless & started bawling! I’d waited all these years & it was finally happening! All in God’s time, not mine! Surgery was scheduled July 18th, 2006. I asked the surgeon 2 things the day of surgery. 1. Can it be done laporascopically yet? 2. Can I donate my skin when I lose all the weight? He answered yes to both questions. That’s when I knew it was definately all in God’s time! 8 weeks to the day after my surgery my husband had his foot crushed by a 25,000lb heavy equipment trailer. Thank God I had already had surgery & recovered from it before this happened! I had already lost 50 lbs & it’s amazing what a difference it already made! My husband was bound to a wheelchair & I had to be able to lift it in and out of our truck, and take care of him, and anything else that came along. Now we’re both out on work related injuries! Our income was cut in half! In December 2006 the doctor’s determined that I was unable to go back to work & they couldn’t fix my arms. Too much wrong to fix & I would probably end up worse off! February 2007…after 8 surgeries, a partial amputation of my husband’s right foot, 4 toes left but had no feeling or movement and he was told he could not go back to work…the only type of work he has ever done in his life. It just keeps getting better! We were drowning financially & having to make some tough decisions. We talked with a friend about renting his 35ft 5th wheel & live in it. We worked out the deal & in July 2007 we were out of our 1500 sq ft home into a 400 sq ft 5th wheel. We sold everything we could & kept very little that we would have to put in storage. We were out looking at RV parks to live in and again was Blessed. We found a new place that had just opened and the managers needed a “camp host” meaning we would work a couple days a week in exchange for our site & electricity. Work was taking phone calls, helping customers, keeping the grounds clean. With our injuries it wasn’t too much for us to handle so we agreed. It wasn’t a destination type place, it was more of a “driving down the freeway, it’s late, thank goodness there’s an rv park” kinda place. We really started to like this whole new world of the full-time RV lifestyle! A year later we decided we’d like to find a place that people actual planned on going to. We checked out the areas just north of our hometown & found a place about 100 miles away. We came here to relax for a bit then find a new ‘work camping’ assignment. A few weeks into our stay we were asked if we would be interested in ‘camp hosting’ here. We jumped a the chance! Thank God we did because a month later my benefits ran out! We had no idea that even though you were still under the dr’s care (workers comp) & being kept off work that you only got benefits for 24 months! Another big chunk of income gone! My medical insurance had run out in December 2007. All of this has happened before I had a chance to have my excess skin removed & my insurance would have covered it! I am desperately looking to find an organization that will cover the cost of removal. I am fortunate that all of my excess skin is easy to cover. It’s from my waist to the top of my knees. I was not a ‘top heavy’ person to begin with so I don’t have saggy skin on my face or neck. Most people are shocked when I tell them how much I used to weigh because to look at me you can’t tell. I get horrible rashes from the belly skin that hangs to the top of my thighs & often has a ‘foul’ odor to it. I feel ‘heavy’ when I walk because of so much movement of the skin. Sometimes it even knocks me off balance. In the summer I tuck a washrag under my belly flab to absorb the sweat. I used to have 76″ hips just to give you an idea of how much extra skin is in that area. I didn’t realize HOW big that was until I said outloud “Oh my gosh, that is 6′ 4″….I have uncles that are 6′ 3″ & to imagine my hips were as big around as they were tall just made me sick to my stomach! I’m only 5′ 6″. If anyone comes up with anything please let me know & I will do the same. I am in Central California. I have written a letter to a plastic surgeon that I found in Sacramento that is one of the doctor’s that does harvesting for the MTF. I will be more than happy to share any info I find!
Congrats to all of you who have succeeded in losing your weight & to all of you that have just started your journey!!!! I am not a ‘surgery’ cheerleader for weightloss….I truly feel that those who have honestly tried everything possible unsuccessfully should have gastric bypass. It is meerly a tool! You have to change your lifestyle…it doesn’t just fix the problem!
I know this is long but I wanted to express that I am not one to look for a handout or ‘freebies’….I truly need help.
Thank You all so much,
Lori Brooks
Hello I have read the articals about the extra skin removal.
I to have a lot of extra skin. I want to be able to get rid of the extra skin and I have no insurance. Is there a place wher I can get it done for free. I am willing to donate all I got. I have tryed tiets walking starving my self and it just wont come off. I have had 6 kids and with each kid it just got worse. My whole familyis fat and I just cant stand it any more. the extra skin cause me to get sore due to the heat and sweat. I walk and Im getting healthy but the skin is making it hard for me I want to be healthy as well as look better. I want this skin off so bad. I look at my self in descut because I have it and cant get it off. PLEASE HELP ME. IF u know of any one please let me know at [email protected]
Thanks
Cindy
I am looking to donate my skin I was 310 pounds and I am 165 pounds now and have skin to donate
I like so many above me am in the same situation….I had gastric bypass on Feb. 13th, 2009. My starting weight was 500 lbs I am now almost 3 years out and weigh 275-280….I have so much excess skin that its not funny. I was told that there were burn centers that would pay for my surgery but after searching on the internet I found that not to be true…Is there anything out there that will pay for my surgery and allow me to donate my excess skin??? I am a mother of 3 handsome sons I can do more then I could before but if I could get this excess of me I can do even more….I’M DESPERATE PLEASE SOMEONE HELP….I NEED NEAR OR IN INDIANA IF AT ALL POSSIBLE…
Thanks,
Heather