title: Allogenic skin: transplant or dressing?
abstract: The use of biological dressings is an established aspect of contemporary burns care. The type and source of these biological materials can give rise to both legal and ethical issues. This paper looks at these issues in relation to allogenic skin. It is argued, from a medical perspective, that non-viable allogenic skin, cannot be transplanted and so should therefore be classified both medically and legally as a dressing.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong. andrewburd@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burd
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001684:Biological Dressings; D002056:Burns / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous