Not for the Faint of Heart

I just read an interesting article in the NY Times about the growing industry of plastinating human corpses in China. If you've seen the Body World's exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry here in Chicago, you most likely have observed the work of the German scientist, Gunther von Hagens and his team of Chinese medical school graduates.

Because of the success of his shows, a number of copycat competitors have launched their own business in China supplying plastinated corpses to shows in Japan, Korea and the U.S. The practices of these human dissecting factories are being questioned in regards to where the bodies are being obtained. Apparently many of them are unclaimed Chinese corpses. However, human rights activists claim the bodies may be of executed prisoners and the deceased mentally ill. The underground trade of illegal bodies has become a concern for the Chinese government.

The video that accompanies this article provides a look inside Gunther's body factory in China. Some questions and thoughts came to my mind as I watched the factory tour. First, it must smell awful, especially in the heat. Is there any air-conditioning? Why are there fans then? Otherwise the bodies would rot, right? I can't imagine working in a factory dissecting human bodies. How do these workers feel after going through years of medical school and end up having to do this for a living? Can you imagine if you worked there and you came across a body you knew? How creepy is that? Do people who volunteer to be organ donors know that their body could potentially end up at an exhibition viewed by millions of people? Imagine friends and family who might unknowingly attend one of these shows and see your plastinated body. How traumatic would that be?

I understand the educational aspect of these shows and how it benefits people to see the difference between healthy bodies and those that smoked or never exercised, but I wonder the ethicality of it and the amount of money these businesses are profiting from bodies that were donated or not.