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(CNN) - New Zealand has ordered 1.2 million square centimeters of skin to treat injured patients in Monday's volcanic eruption on White Island, authorities said Wednesday.
A total of 47 people were on White Island, off the coast of North Island, when the eruption occurred. Six have been confirmed dead, while 25 people are currently hospitalized in critical condition. Search and recovery operations continue for those who are still missing and presumed to be dead on the island.
Skin is now needed to treat patients seriously injured by volcanic ash and gas. On Tuesday, medical officials said 27 people in the hospital had burns in at least 30% of their bodies and many have inhalation burns that require airway support. Every burn unit in the country is at full capacity.
"We currently have (skin) supply, but we are urgently seeking additional supplies to meet the demand for temporary skin dressings and grafts," said Peter Watson of the District Health Boards on Wednesday. "We anticipate that we will need an additional 1.2 million square centimeters (1,292 square feet) of skin for the patients' ongoing needs."
To put this in context, the average human body has approximately one to two square meters of skin surface.
The leather order has been made and will come from the United States, Watson said. Skin and tissue banks in neighboring Australia, such as Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria, are also providing skin grafts and supplies.
Skin grafts come from donors - like organ donors, skin donors register to donate their skin after death. When skin is donated, usually only a thin layer is taken, such as skin that peels off when you burn, according to the Australian government donation site. Skin grafts are usually taken from the back of the donors or from the back of their legs.
The demand for skin is particularly high given the unprecedented amount of severe burns in victims, authorities said Wednesday. The patients' burns are already serious due to their proximity to the volcano during the eruption, but the injuries were also complicated by gases and chemicals, Watson said.
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When White Island erupted, so much poisonous gas would have been released that people could have tasted the chemicals, said Jessica Johnson, a volcanologist at the University of East Anglia in England.
The volcano, which has an acid lake in its crater, would also have thrown boiling steam clouds, he added. Severe patient burns were probably due to these steam explosions, he said.
Apart from the steam, they could also have been injured by "very hot rock debris," said Monash University volcanologist Raymond Cas.
These complications meant that patients had to be taken to surgical treatment more urgently than with the usual burn cases, Watson said Wednesday, adding: “This is just the beginning of a very long process that, for some patients, will take several months. ”
Patients are of different nationalities, which means that some of them will be transferred to their countries of origin for treatment. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday that 10 Australian patients would be repatriated in the next 24 hours to receive "specialized medical care."
Meanwhile, authorities continue to monitor the volcanic island, which remains too dangerous for rescuers to access. They are also working to identify the six confirmed dead, with the help of forensic pathologists and dentists. Names and faces begin to appear: an Australian teenager and her stepfather, an Australian mother and daughter and a New Zealand tour guide are among the victims identified so far.
Isaac Yee contributed reporting.
Volcano