History of the Euro Skin Bank: the innovation of preservation technologies.

A skin bank facility is indispensable for burn care. In Holland, a skin bank was established in October 1976 on a national basis for economical reasons. Since 1981, overcoming early rejection by innovation of existing, and development of new, preservation technologies became the main scientific objective. The immunological benefits of glycerolization of skin became clear in 1983. In clinical practice, the use of glycerolized allograft in sandwich grafting changed this technique into a reliable procedure. Early rejection can still be a problem, especially in the non-immunocompromised patient. Future research projects are focused on immunomodulation of the skin by chemical, physical and immunological methods. Even the risk of HIV transmission is not now a drawback for the use of glycerolized skin.