Thousands Sign Up For Journey Beyond Death

Thousands Sign Up For Journey Beyond Death

www.cnn.com

Stace Owens has no intention of leaving this world when he dies. He plans to stick around for decades or longer, preserved in plastic and displayed in a museum or medical school.

The 33-year-old real estate agent is among more than 7,000 people who have agreed to donate their bodies for plastination, a process in which body fluids are replaced by liquid plastic. The plastic hardens, leaving tissues intact and allowing bodies to be displayed in their natural color and without formaldehyde.

The process was made popular by Gunther von Hagens' "Body Worlds," a controversial anatomy exhibit that puts real human specimens on view. Most are flayed and dissected, revealing their organs. Others are kept intact and displayed in dramatic action poses, such as a basketball player driving to the hoop or a runner in full stride.

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I've seen the exhibit, and it is absolutely fascinating. I don't think I could sign up for this though. Could you?

www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I couldn't do it. The only way I'd preserve myself is if science could freeze my body in a fashion that could be re-animated with my complete mind intact. Or develope an artificial "mind" that could download all my memories and be re-uploaded to, preferrable a clone from my own DNA, or another body altogether.

I'd just as soon accrue documentation of my life with pictures, recordings and other forms of media and pass that along to family members to keep my memory alive. I'd be happier keeping my memory alive with future family members than being a sideshow to complete stangers.

The whole idea is just too creepy for words. I remember when I first heard about this man's "exhibits" and how the "specimens" were preserved and displayed. Has anyone else ever seen the movie, "House of Wax" with Vincent Price? Whoo! I get a sick feeling in my stomach just thinking about it.

There is no way I would sign up for this.I definitely can understand the comparison to Dr. Frankenstein.I wouldn't even visit the exhibit.It would just feel wrong and creepy.Like being in a real life horror movie.This guy just sounds twisted and sick to me.Where do you get an idea to do this? How do you bounce this idea off of family and friends? Does he consider this art or science or both?I get shivers just thinking about it.

I will not give my body for this, I rather donate my organs.

But I find this type of art fascinating and a way to show how truly the human body looks inside.

I guess once naked from the skin we are actually all the same.

Originally posted by marg6043
I will not give my body for this, I rather donate my organs.

But I find this type of art fascinating and a way to show how truly the human body looks inside.

I guess once naked from the skin we are actually all the same.

I agree with you completely marg6043.
The exhibit really is fascinating, and it absolutely does show that beauty is only skin deep. We really are all physiologically the same when you get right down to it.

I just have to wonder about the ego of someone who would do this? Why does he think anyone would want to view his dead ass? Friends and family I can see... for a short time but this is different.

I remember this exhibition being on when I was in the UK last. It happened to be on when we were at Blackpool. I stayed outside while other members of my family went in to see it. I'm not religious and I'm not squeamish, but I just flat out found the whole concept repugnant. To charge people money to see, and make entertainment of, the dead just didn't sit right with me at all.

I can understand the use of this type of technology for medical students who need this kind of experience. But for the general public to go and gawk at corpses positively reeks of the macabre.

What clinched it for me was when I was talking to my Uncle who'd gone in and he was relaying what he'd seen. He said it was all pretty fascinating and OK until he saw the 5 year old child's corpse...who gave consent there? I bet the child didn't. Absolutely horrendous.

[edit on 27/4/07 by subz]

Wow! pretty interesting read!

I personally, wouldn't opt for this route.

As with other posters, I would probably just donate parts of my body for medical issues.

Did you see the cost of preserving the body? Holy moly!

Gomez estimates about half the donors are used in exhibitions and half at used at medical facilities in teaching. Some become full-body specimens, a process that takes up to a year to complete at a cost of between $40,000 and $60,000.

No thanks. By the time funeral arrangements have come and gone, I would have had to fork over that much.

I would rather leave this much money to my dependents in a will, for them to enjoy! They've seen enough of me while I was alive.