What is GammaGraft?

 

 

              GammaGraft is an irradiated human skin allograft that may be stored at

 

room temperature.  Its main applications are as a temporary graft for treating

 

burns, chronic wounds, and partial and full thickness wounds.

 

 

              GammaGraft is human skin allograft acquired from cadaveric donors. 

 

Allograft skin is skin taken from the same species and is the ideal biological

 

skin graft when the patient’s own skin is not available for transplantation. 

 

Allograft is self-adhering, renders the wound site pain free, and acts as a vapor

 

barrier that limits fluid and protein loss from the wound while preventing

 

infection.  GammaGraft has both the epidermal and the dermal layers of human

 

skin which makes it more durable and effective as a vapor barrier than most

 

wound covers, especially some artificial skins, which lack a keratinocyte layer

 

(found in the epidermis). 

 

 

              The irradiation process that GammaGraft undergoes produces two key

 

advantages.  The irradiation acts as a preservation and sterilization agent

 

significantly reducing any risk of viral transmission of disease and allowing it to

 

be stored at room temperature for up to two years.  This is an added precaution

 

to eliminate viruses beyond the extensive serological testing done by the tissue

 

banks to ensure virus-free skin.  In fact GammaGraft has been treated so as to

 

greatly reduce the threat of CMV (cytomegalovirus).  It is therefore an ideal

 

dressing for transplant patients, HIV positive patients, and other people with

 

compromised immune systems who could be adversely affected by CMV. 

 

 

              The ability to store GammaGraft at room temperature for up to two

 

years makes GammaGraft readily available for use upon opening a foil pack. 

 

Most biological dressings still require refrigeration and most human skin

 

allograft is cryogenically frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen.  These dressings

 

require labor-intensive preparations such as thawing, cleansing, and rehydration

 

before applying to the patient.  GammaGraft™ requires none of these time-

 

consuming processes before application.  GammaGraft can be applied in a

 

clinical setting without incurring costly Operating Room time for application. 

 

GammaGraft’s transportability, ease of storage and use, and its effective

 

coverage agents make it a cost-effective and efficient means by which to treat

 

many wounds.