Ethics of exhibiting human remains: what museums must confront

FOR years, a man’s giant intestine was anonymously on display at a US medical museum in Philadelphia, identified only by his initials JW.

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Today, the donor display for Joseph Williams depicts not only his anatomical record, but his powerful life story.

After two years of controversy over how to ethically exhibit human remains, the Mutter Museum announced last week it has changed its policy to “contextualise” and de-anonymise its collection.

“The issue isn’t whether we should or shouldn’t exhibit human remains,”- said Sara Ray, the museum’s senior director of interpretation and engagement.

“But rather, can we do so in a way that does justice to these individuals and their stories as we trace the history of medicine, bodily diversity, and the tools and therapies developed to treat them?”

Founded in 1863 from the personal collection of local surgeon Thomas Mutter, the museum is now home to 35 000 items, including 6 000 biological specimens.

Visitors can view a vast medical library with human skulls, wax moldings of skin conditions, medical tools and more.

Under its new policy, the museum will only accept donations from living donors or from their descendants, to help identify them.

In 2020, a heart transplant recipient donated his old enlarged heart to the collection.