Treating severe burn injuries is still an intractable issue despite significant advances in clinical practice guidelines of burn care. When autologous skin graft is not available immediately, skin allografts are considered the cornerstone of the burn wound coverage. This paper describes how Taiwan achieved skin allograft self-sufficiency after 2020 and shares our experience of building standard operating procedures of Taiwan skin bank. The standard practices of Taiwan skin bank were demonstrated. We reviewed the skin donors (n = 145) between January 2019 and December 2024. Skin allograft characteristics (size, bacteriological, mycological results) were collected and analyzed. The annual inventory amount is calculated. From January 2020 to December 2024, 107 (79.25%) were male and 28 (20.75%) were female. The donors' ages ranged from 17 to 75 years, with the highest proportion (46.66%) falling within the 45-65 years age group. The total surface area of harvested skin was 499231 cm 2 . The total loss amount during skin processing was 67565 cm 2 . The total storage amount was 431666 cm 2 . The bacteriological result revealed 12.88% infection average. The annual skin storage amount increased from 27,345 cm 2 to average 86333 cm 2 annually and achieved self-sufficiency after 2020. Due to limited skin allografts in the large-scale burn emergencies in 2015, we established national skin bank and implemented domestic collaboration for skin procurements. Taiwan achieved skin allograft self-sufficiency after 2020. • Taiwan achieved skin allograft self-sufficiency after 2020. • Skin allografts remain irreplaceable role for treating severe burns. • The national cooperative network improved potential donor availability. • Centralized management facilitates skin allografts distribution.
Yang et al. (2026) studied this question.