25 April,2026 07:27 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal Ashar
Viraj Thakoor, burn survivor
Dr Sunil Keswani, plastic surgeon and director of the National Burns Centre (NBC) in Airoli, Navi Mumbai, flagged the lack of awareness and a serious shortfall in skin donation at a conference at the Indian Merchants' Chamber building on Thursday evening.
"We need 150 donations a month, but instead we have 30. We have three skin banks in the city and one in Navi Mumbai. Yet, there is little use of skin banks when there is such a shortfall of cadaveric skin donors," he said.
Dr Sunil Keswani (left)with Viraj Thakoor
Viraj Thakoor, a burn survivor and Khar resident, was at the conference. Thakoor suffered burns due to an accident on August 9, 2023, at his factory in Vapi, Gujarat. Said Thakoor, "We manufacture cookware.
That day, we were shifting machinery, and a machine toppled, with sulphuric acid spilling on me. I was burnt on my chest and left leg. I went into immediate fight or flight mode. I was transferred to the National Burns Centre. I had suffered 43 per cent burns."
Dr Keswani said, "Skin was taken from Thakoor himself and from the skin bank. He was an ideal patient," he added as Thakoor smiled. Thakoor said, "I was discharged after two months, and my entire recovery journey took a year. Today, I am back at work, going jogging, to the gym... just like before. We cannot change what has happened, but we can look at a brighter future."
Viraj Thakoor and his wife Simran Jha, who has been a pillar of strength throughout. PICS/SHADAB KHAN
>> Skin can be donated within six hours of death. The deceased must be registered with a local skin bank to be eligible.
>> Lack of awareness translates to a fraction of burn survivors receiving skin transplants.
>> Today, we can save victims of 70 per cent burns. Years ago, that would have been unthinkable. Yet, we need much more skin donation.
>> A quarter of a century ago, we had a lot of women with burns due to domestic violence. In Mumbai, that has probably gone to zero.
>> We have more industrial burns now, with workers often shunning protective gear.
>> The National Burns Centre was started on October 5, 2001.
>> NBC has also developed a state-of-the-art skin bank, providing cadaveric donor skin to patients across the country.
>> Rehabilitation key with initiatives such as Operation Restore, which has conducted 27 camps and supported around 900 patients with post-burn corrective surgeries.
Visit
https://www.burns-india.com/
Helpline number: 022- 27793333.
Skin Donation Website: www.skindonation.in
