In a landmark development for Pakistan’s healthcare sector, the first skin bank has been inaugurated at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad, in partnership with Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU). The initiative aims to advance burn treatment by providing patients with cultured skin grafts, reducing complications and costs associated with traditional methods.
Until now, burn victims depended on grafts taken from other parts of their own bodies, often causing additional pain and delayed recovery. With the new skin bank, doctors will be able to culture skin samples in a lab, store them for up to five years, and provide grafts when required.
Dr. Syed Mujahid Gilani, Head of the Burn Intensive Care Unit at PIMS, explained that the facility will function much like a blood bank, offering life-saving skin grafts for patients with severe burns. At SZABMU’s Molecular Biology Department, a two-centimeter tissue sample from stabilized patients can be cultured within a week and later grafted onto wounds.
“Patients with 80 to 100 percent burns require urgent grafts to heal quickly. For years, we lacked access to cultured skin. Now, preparations are complete, and once DRAP approves, we will begin applying it,” Dr. Gilani said.
While often called “synthetic skin,” the graft still requires donor tissue and must match the patient’s blood group. However, cultured skin will be more accessible and significantly cheaper: traditional burn dressings cost Rs. 55,000 to Rs. 150,000, while cultured skin will reduce expenses and minimize repeated treatments.
The project was officially inaugurated by Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal during the ceremony “From Trauma to Recovery: Elevating Burn Treatment Standards.” He assured full government support and confirmed that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) would issue the necessary license soon.
International burn expert Dr. Nikki Allorto from South Africa called for adopting global burn treatment standards and ensuring proper staff training. Professor Dr. Abdul Khaliq hailed the initiative as a milestone in Pakistan’s healthcare journey.
The ceremony was also attended by leading medical professionals, including SZABMU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr. Tanvir Khaliq, PIMS Executive Director Professor Rana Imran Sikandar, and Professor Dr. S.H. Waqar, who all praised the skin bank as a transformative step for patient care in Pakistan.
