Cod skin heals wounds by becoming part of the body
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Guðmundur Fertram Sigurjónsson, an inventor from Iceland, discovered that North Atlantic cod skin closely resembles human skin and can aid wound healing.
He observed that the body integrates with the fish skin, absorbing it as new tissue grows, unlike traditional dressings that require replacement and can damage healing wounds. Historically, humans have used animal skin for wound care, with pig skin becoming common due to its affordability, but mammal skin requires extensive processing to prevent disease transmission.
Cod skin may pose a lower risk of disease because pathogens adapted to cold-water fish struggle to survive in human bodies. While over 100 studies have examined fish skin's effectiveness, Dimitri Beeckman of Örebro and Ghent Universities cautions that more research is needed to confirm its superiority to other materials. A large trial involving 255 patients with diabetic foot ulcers showed that 44% of wounds treated with cod skin healed after 16 weeks, compared to 26% with standard care.
Sigurjónsson founded Kerecis in 2013 to produce and distribute fish skin for wound treatment, and the company now operates internationally. Kerecis has provided fish skin to treat hundreds of thousands of patients globally, including those injured in Ukraine, and its product’s shelf life and storage requirements make it useful in conflict zones. Despite promising results, wider adoption is limited by cost, and Beeckman suggests further health-economic research is necessary.
