Shriners and skin harvesting --not a question

Like most of us I've heard that the Shriners may sometimes do post-op plastic surgery in order to harvest skin for burn victims. Someone posted a question on this recently and got a lot of negative answers, that this doesn't exist, which I'd feared was true. Sounds too good, doesn't it? Since I'm 7 months post-op and PS is really looking necessary for me, I decided it was time to get to the bottom of it personally. This excerpt is what I found on an FDA website regarding burn victims and skin harvesting. This is straight from the mouth of the director of the skin bank at Boston Shriners Hospital. Yeah, it was too good to be true. (http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2002/302_heal.html) "Many people don't realize that skin is an organ, but in fact it's the body's largest organ. And like other organ donations, skin donations are critically needed, says Phil Walters, director of the skin bank at Boston Shriners Hospital. Walters says the two most frequently asked questions he fields about skin donation are: is skin taken from a living donor, and can tissue surgically removed from a patient by procedures such as those performed to reduce obesity be donated? "The answer to both questions is no," says Walters. "Skin is procured from a deceased organ donor, just like any other donated organ." " Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, so to speak, but it was a little bubble of hope for me too. Still best to get the straight dope. I wish everyone the best in getting their plastic surgery and not going broke doing it! I'm in the same boat :)

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