Dr Death plans body
part merchandise

Dr Gunther von Hagens, the creepy German anatomist who has disgusted and fascinated in equal measures millions around the world with his travelling freak-show of 'plastinated' corpses, is hoping to sell merchandise made from human body parts. ‘Dr Death’, as the tabloids like to call him, wants to sell 150,000 body parts privately, allowing individuals rather than just clinics and hospitals to buy them.

Von Hagens plans to ‘plastinate’ corpses - promised to him by various ‘donors’ before their death - by replacing water and fat with a special solution of silicon rubber, polyester or epoxy resin. He will then take 2cm-thick cross-sectional slices from the corpses, which he plans to sell at prices ranging from E350 (for a slice through the stomach) up to €2,500 (for something more spectacular).

Eager to fend off criticism that he is demeaning people in death, von Hagens has assured the authorities that he will maintain the dignity of the corpses: "That means forbidding the use of the body sections as, for example, placemats for cocktail glasses." Owners of the macabre merchandise will also be required to cremate the body slices when they tire of them, rather than simply throw them out with the trash.

Von Hagens first came to prominence in Britain when in 2004 he performed the country’s first public anatomy. Since then, his Body Worlds exhibition has been seen by more than 20m people across the globe. The marketing-savvy doctor knows that the greatest market for his new idea will be among pet owners. The cost for a slice from a treasured pooch will be €460.