Body Worlds
Gunther von Hagens developed the preservation process which "unite[s] subtle anatomy and modern polymer chemistry",[1] in the late 1970s.
[5] Each Body Worlds exhibition[6] contains approximately 25 full-body plastinates with expanded or selective organs shown in positions that enhance the role of certain systems.
Some of the whole-body specimens, such as the "Tai Chi Man", demonstrate interventions, and include prosthetics such as artificial hip joints or heart valves.
[9] Body Worlds was first presented in Tokyo in 1995, and related exhibitions have since been hosted by more than 50 museums and venues in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Body Worlds 3 & The Story of the Heart (concerning the cardiovascular system) opened on 25 February 2006, at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
[11] Body Worlds 4 debuted 22 February 2008 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester in England and was in the Cureghem Cellars in Brussels until March 2009.
[15] In 2017, the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California, opened a semi-permanent exhibition called Body Worlds Decoded.
Sponsored by venture capitalist John Doerr and his wife Ann, the exhibit features plastinated specimens supplemented by augmented reality and a digital anatomy table.
[16] Body Worlds has prepared free teaching guides for secondary school education, typically made available through organizations hosting its exhibitions.
Gunther von Hagens issued a press statement denying any connection between the closed Chinese exhibition and his Body Worlds franchise.
But, after consideration by the Department of Health, it was found that the legislation had not been designed to relate to exhibitions like Body Worlds and so no licence was required.
"[24] Various organizations gave evidence to the Scottish Executive during the consultation process, including the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the Wellcome Trust, and the Museums Association.
National legislation on consent and tissue donation issues is expressed in the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (2006)[26] passed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws which states that "an anatomical gift of a donor's body or part may be made during the life of the donor for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education", and prohibits trafficking in donated human organs for profit.
In early 2008, former US Republican Representative W. Todd Akin proposed an amendment to the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act of 1930[27] to "make it unlawful for a person to import plastinated human remains into the United States."
The President of the American Association of Anatomists has expressed concern that the scope of the act is "too broad" and that "Preventing importation of all plastinated specimens could severely restrict their use for medical education.
A bill that was sponsored by Senator Jim Alesi requires anyone showing an exhibit that uses real human bodies in New York museums to produce a permit detailing their origin.
Representative Mike Fleck's proposed bill would require evidence of informed consent from the decedent or relatives of all humans whose remains are put on display.
[38] BODY WORLDS exhibitions have been hosted in Philadelphia at the Franklin Institute and in Allentown at the Da Vinci Science Center.
[2] In January 2004, the German news magazine Der Spiegel reported, based on internal emails and records as well as statements from von Hagens, that his company had acquired corpses from executed Chinese prisoners.
[40] In response to the article, von Hagens said that he has told his Chinese employees not to accept bodies that were executed, and returned seven cadavers to China that had head injuries, including at least two with bullet holes in the skull.
"[2] Hans Martin Sass, a philosophy professor with a speciality in ethics, was hired by the California Science Center to investigate Body Worlds before the show's US debut in 2004.
[49] Concerned with how "some kids process" these "graphic" images, Des McKay, school superintendent in Abbotsford, British Columbia (near Greater Vancouver), barred field trips to exhibits of plasticized human beings.
[52] Reporting on the exhibition at the O2 bubble in 2008/2009, Melanie Reid of The Times stated "(Body Worlds) should be compulsory viewing for every child of 10 or over".
A group of Catholic Christians voiced their opinions towards the Body Worlds exhibition in a reflection paper written by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
The site included a government petition calling for "a review of the law regarding the policies and practices of touring shows involving corpses".
Visitors were not allowed to take pictures, and press photographers were required to sign restrictive agreements permitting only a single publication in a defined context, followed by a return of the copyright to von Hagens.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo commented: "Despite repeated denials, we now know that Premier itself cannot demonstrate the circumstances that led to the death of the individuals.
