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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{ 19 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 spcmConner@yahoo.com
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 !!!!!