Body art: Jewellery made of human organs

Gunther von Hagens, a German anatomist famous for his controversial Body World exhibition displaying plastinated bodies, is now selling human and animal body parts — even as jewellery — online.

Gunther von Hagens, a German anatomist famous for his controversial Body World exhibition displaying plastinated bodies, is now selling human and animal body parts — even as jewellery — online.

The move has provoked strong condemnation from German churches which accuse him of degrading human dignity. A whole body from www.plastination-products.com costs about $97,400.

But these real body parts — which have undergone plastination, a process which replaces water and fat with plastic for preservation purposes — are not available to everyone.

Only “qualified users” who can provide written proof that they intend to use the parts for research, teaching or medical purposes can place an order.

Jewellery crafted from animal corpses, including necklaces made from horse slices, wristbands made from giraffe tails and earrings made from bull penises, is also available to the general public.