Newsletter No. 37

CUHK Newsletter No.37 December 1992 Multi-function Skin Bank Opens at Prince of Wales Hospital The world's first comprehensive and multi-purpose skin bank was formally opened at the Bums Unit o f the Prince of Wales Hospital on 14th November. The skin bank has been set up with generous donations from th e Oriental Press Charitable Fund Association and th e L i Tam Doy Hing Bums Foundation, an d is fully supported b y th e Hospital Authority. I t consists o f three sections with different functions. The cryostorage section ha s a computerized programmable freezer for long-term storage o f pig skin o r donated cadaver skin, which will be used as temporary cover fo r burn wounds. The cultured skin section has a laminar flow hood and a carbon dioxide incubator fo r th e cultivation and propagation o f human epidermal cells, which will be transplanted to patients with extensive burns to cover their wounds permanently. The biosynthetic skin section provides th e technology required t o make biosynthetic skin, which holds promise as effective cover for bum wounds. The skin bank w i ll provide advanced treatment t o about 25 0 patients each year and will continue to conduct research t o improve treatment results. Given adequate resources, i t hopes t o extend it s service t o other local hospitals a t a later stage. Speaking a t th e opening ceremony of th e skin bank, Mrs . ElizabethWong, secretary for Health and Welfare, said that th e project was a n excellent example o f ho w medical professionals, private entrepreneurs and the government could work together to achieve a worthwhile goal for the benefit of the community. Th eChines eUniversit y Pres s is Please d t o Announc e A page in The MacLehose Trail In th e second week o f November, The Chinese University Press ha d tw o books which made the top 10 selling books' list published b y th e South China Morning Post. These ar e The MacLehose Trail and The Other Hong Kong Report. Th e latter also made i t to th e United States Public from T .L. Tsim Director of The Chinese University Press Libraries list, along with another Chinese University Press publication China Review. The first audio-visual publication of Th e Chinese University Press, a co-production with Oxford University Press entitled English Express, also did very well when i t was launched i n th e primary and secondary school markets earlier this year. W e have a t this university the envy of many tertiary institutions: we have a dynamic and highly productive university press. I f t h e raison detre o f a university i s t o discover and disseminate knowledge, th e raison detre o f a university press i s to help i n that dissemination. This we have tried to do to the best of our ability, producing as we d o almost a book a week and one major audio-visual publication every two months. 4