What do they do with your skin???

I'm just wondering...do they use it for burn units, ya know for grafts or do they just throw it away??
If they do use it do you get paid for it?? 

I think that would be a great way to use the skin and it could  help you finance your plastics!! 

Diane

They use it to build new frankenstein-like people.

KIDDING!

Some doctors say that they donate it for burn patients.  My doctor said he donates to a researcher on skin issues based on ethnicity (I think).  The tissue has a few other purposes.  

Probably most of it gets biopsied and then incinerated.

No, you don't get paid for it.

This reminds me of a funny story, though.  Twelve year ago, when my fther died, procedures like ours were rare.  He was an organ donor, and some of the tissue they harvested was skin.  Years later I somehow discovered that it was donated to a cosmetic pharmaceuticals corp, where it was turned into whatever gets injected into women's lips (or did at the time - remember, the 1990s?).  

It used to crack me up endlessly that my dirty-old-man dad is now spending his erstwhile enternment lingering on the lips of women.

Ha! That's a pretty funny story, Charming!

I guess I'll have to keep working that second job to finance my plastics!

Our skin is not good enugh for burn patients, they send it to the lab and then dispose of it

 . . . or to make tents

. . .  and sometimes as filling in those "mold to your body" pillows, but they have a hard time with the smell of rotting flesh . . .

(oooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh I'm in a halloween mood!)

dog food?

. . . I'm sure we could come up with some clever uses!

As us Iowans would say.... "Beef... its whats for dinner. " 

it goes into bio waste. 

Mine went to the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation.  Their website is www.mtf.org .  I was able to specify if I wanted it used for research, patient use, or both.  They do a lengthy interview pre-op to make sure you are a suitable donor.  They pick up the skin from the place where you have your surgery by courier.  When I had my LBL, they removed 17 lbs and took the skin, but not when I had my brachio.  I am assuming it wasn't enough flesh to make processing worth it.

April

 

Like April (above), I donated the skin from my lower body lift to mtf.org (13 lbs). They told me that they previously had used cadaver skin but now with more and more people having lower body lifts, they are able to use "living skin". Besides research and burn victims, they use a lot of the skin they receive to recreate breasts for woman who have had mastectomys.

I've been a blood donor my entire life and I'm happy that I'm now an organ donor. Check out their website. It's a wonderful gift.

Kathie

I'm pretty sure Dr. L just threw mine in a bucket to be tossed!