More Than the Sum of Our Parts: Identity, Bioethics, and Plastination in China

Abstract

Plastination, a unique tissue preservation method, has been the subject of misunderstandings and controversies related to claims of negligent sourcing of human bodies and body parts in the People's Republic of China (PRC), an authoritarian state. The International Society for Plastination (ISP) has maintained an informal consensus on rigorous ethical standards, yet they do not have an established ethical framework for their globally dispersed members. This thesis asserts the ISP must create a codified ethical framework that aligns with internationally agreed upon standards while also ensuring culturally sensitive protocols inclusive of identity acknowledgement and continuity. Policy implications for the ISP were determined through examination of the complex history and current state of plastination in the PRC, the function of identity and how it translates to plastinated bodies and body parts, the use of anonymity, authoritarianism's role in shaping historical and current methods of body procurement in the PRC, and how medical practitioners in the PRC are working within their communities to rebuild trust in body and organ donation processes. Qualitative research involved ethnographic methods, including unstructured interviews with six individuals in the plastination community; the ethnographic interviews were complemented by analysis of secondary source materials. Formulation of a codified ethical framework for the ISP is essential to both solidify and strengthen the current standards plastinators adhere to. Further, clarification of history, current practices, and pathways forward dispels the misconceptions about plastination so that fictional claims do not prevail or further impede progress.