Incorrect information: All of the people in the exhibit gave their consent and/or donated their
bodies to science.
The truth: None of the people in BODIES...the Exhibition gave their consent to be exhibited
or plastinated. None of them donated their bodies to 'medicine' or to 'science'.
Most people do not realize that there are several different plastinated corpse exhibits traveling around the
world. While each presents bodies in a similar way, the source of the bodies for each exhibit is not the same.
Gunther von Hagens (BODYWORLDS' creator) states that all of the people displayed in the BODYWORLDS
exhibits gave consent to be plastinated and exhibited. However, top Management members at Premier Exhibitions
Inc. (promoter of BODIES...the Exhibition) admit up-front that NONE of the people in BODIES...the Exhibition
gave consent to be plastinated or exhibited - this would be an impossibility because the corpses were unidentified and
unclaimed and were acquired by the plastination plant from the Chinese police.
For reputable sources regarding this topic, see The Provenance of BODIES' Corpses and the Possible
Connections with the Falun Gong section on The Issues page of this website.
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Incorrect information: All of the specimens in the Exhibition were obtained by Premier Exhibitions through
the Dalian Medical University plastination laboratories in the People's Republic of China.
The truth: All of the specimens are controlled or leased by Dalian Hoffen Bio Technique Company Limited.
According to Premier's 2006 annual report,
"THIS EXHIBITION TOUR AGREEMENT is entered into as of the 24th day of January, 2006 by and between
Premier Exhibitions 2005-ATL, Inc. (a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Nevada and having its principal
place of business at 3340 Peachtree Rd. NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (“PREMIER”), and Dr. Hong-Jin
Sui (“Dr. Sui”), a designer and supplier of all specimens referred to herein, and Dr. Shuyan
Wang President of Dalian Hoffen Bio Technique Company Limited collectively referred to as (“DHBTL”) having
a place of business in Dalian, China."
________________________________________
Misleading Information: The identity of each human body
displayed in the exhibition is strictly confidential.
The Truth: In fact, the bodies displayed in the
exhibition are unidentified.
The term 'confidential' implies that someone knows the identities of the bodies. Premier Exhibitions,
Inc. has consistently stated up-front that all of the bodies displayed in the exhibition were unidentified and unclaimed.
Premier is renting the cadavers and organs from China's Dalian Medical University, which acquired the unidentified, unclaimed
corpses from police.
This fact is particularly troubling because in China, people who practice Falun Gong (a spiritual practice
that is banned by the government) often refuse to reveal their names when arrested, in order to protect their families.
Therefore, there is a large prison population of unidentified people, who remain 'unidentified' after death.
For reputable sources on this topic, see The Kilgour-Matas Reports and The Provenance of Bodies'
Corpses sections on The Issues page of this website.
________________________________________
Incorrect information: It is standard practice throughout the United States for unclaimed and unidentified
bodies to be used by medical schools for educational purposes.
The truth: The majority of bodies used by medical schools come from consenting donors.
The use of unidentified bodies in U.S. medical school anatomy labs is not regulated at the Federal level. Therefore,
there are few national statistics available with respect to this topic. However, a 2004 article in JAMA
(the Journal of the American Medical Association), states that only 20% of US and Canadian medical
schools still used unclaimed bodies in their anatomy laboratories.
Some states have laws which require all unidentified / unclaimed corpses to be buried.
For reputable sources regarding this topic, see The Legality of Plastinated-Corpse Exhibits section
on The Issues page of this website.
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Worrisome Statement: Sworn affidavits, taken in the United States, have been
provided declaring the legal and moral acquisition of the specimens within BODIES…The
Exhibition. Affidavits have been provided by both Dr. Roy Glover, Chief Medical Advisor
for BODIES…The Exhibition; and Dr. Hong
Jin Sui, professor of anatomy and President of Dalian Medical University Plastination Co. LTD.
The Truth: There has been no independent investigation regarding the provenance of
the corpses in BODIES...the Exhibition. The affidavits that Premier presents as assurances with respect to
the corpses' origins are provided by the following two men:
- Roy Glover - Roy Glover is not a medical doctor although, in this context, he is almost always referred
to as "Dr. Roy Glover, Chief Medical Advisor." Glover holds a Ph.D. in Anatomy and is currently working as the Spokesman
for the BODIES exhibit. He states that "the head of the lab at Dalian [Sui Hong Jin] is a longtime, trusted
friend."
- Sui Hong Jin - Sui Hong Jin is a former business associate of Gunther von Hagens, the inventor of the plastination
process and the creator of the BODYWORLDS exhibits. Sui has faced allegations in the past of providing von
Hagens with prisoners' corpses. He is currently the President of Dalian Medical University Plastination Co. LTD. which
is supplying the plastinated corpses to Premier for their exhibits.
For reputable sources on this topic, see The Corpse Supplier and The Provenance of BODIES'
Corpses sections on The Issues page of this website.
_______________________________________
Misleading information: The human bodies are being used appropriately,
in accordance with domestic and international law.
The truth: There are virtually no international, U.S. federal or state laws regulating this type
of exhibit.
Even where there are relevant laws, it is not clear that they are being followed. In Tampa FL, Premier
Exhibitions, Inc. and the Museum of Science and Industry disregarded the rulings of the state Anatomical Board and the state
Attorney General that would have prevented the exhibit from opening, and opened the exhibit two days early, before the
ruling could be enforced.
If 'domestic law' refers to Chinese domestic law, note that the term 'law' in China has a very different connotation
than it does in the U.S. Also note that BODIES has been touring since 2005. Until July of 2006,
selling organs was legal in China. Organ transplantation is an extremely lucrative industry in China.
Those who are profiting the most via the organ-trafficking trade are often directly connected to the Chinese government /
military. Selling organs was deemed illegal specifically to placate the International Olympic Committee - China will
be hosting the Olympics in 2008 - but the new regulations are not enforced.
For reputable sources regarding this topic, see The Legality of Plastinated-Corpse Exhibits and
The Kilgour-Matas Reports sections on The Issues page of this website.
________________________________________
Misleading Statement: None of the people displayed in the
exhibit were killed specifically to be displayed in the exhibit.
The truth: This is not a 'fact' in the scientific sense - it may be true, but there is
no proof that it is true. Again, no one really knows where the bodies in the exhibit come from. Staff
members at a Falun Gong detention center in the same Chinese province as Dalian Medical University have admitted to 'supplying'
organs for transplantation. (These organs were removed from live Falun Gong prisoners). It is not completely
unbelievable that they might also supply them for exhibit purposes.
For reputable sources on this topic, see The Kilgour-Matas Reports and The Provenance of BODIES'
Corpses sections on The Issues page of this website.
________________________________________
Misleading Statement: "Educational tools that can teach children." - New York Times (source: Carnegie
Science Center advertisement) Note: As of the end of November, this quote was removed from the ad.
The truth: This quote suggests that the NY Times endorses the exhibit, however the quote is taken out of context.
Andrew Jacobs, the author of the article, is quite critical of BODIES...the Exhibition, discussing the
Chinese government's history of "recycling the organs of executed prisoners" and Dalian University's history of supplying questionably-obtained
corpses to other exhibits. The quote used in the advertisement comes from the following sentence: "Playing down the
sensationalism, Premier executives use the word 'specimen' to describe the exhibits and emphasize their value as educational
tools that can teach children about human physiology and help adults learn how to lead healthier lives."
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