Training on Improvised Plastination Techniques: An Innovative Modern Approach to Cadaveric Preservation

India’s first plastination project, funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-Department of Health Research (DHR) conducted a 1-month training program. 

Department of Anatomy, MGM Medical College, Kamothe, received an ICMR-DHR Funded Project entitled “Training on Improvised Plastination Techniques: An Innovative Modern Approach to Cadaveric Preservation”. A fund of INR 27,66,075 has been sanctioned for the project for the duration of 3 years.

What is Plastination?

Plastination is an innovative method of preservation developed in 1978 by Dr Gunther von Hagens. This technique transforms biological specimens into dry, durable, odourless, and non-toxic forms, making them exceptionally well-suited for teaching and learning anatomy.

Plastination Training Program Objectives

• To train Medical and Paramedical faculties in the Plastination Technology
• To provide plastinated specimens to facilitate education for healthcare students
• To minimise the hazardous effect of formaldehyde while handling the biological specimens & by adding more plastinated specimens for small group teaching
• Preservation of organs or specimens with unusual morphology or exhibiting a rare disease
• To enhance research in the form of publications and funded projects.

Summary of 1 Month Training Program

The 1st batch of the ICMR Plastination Training Program was conducted from 1st to 31st March 2025, and the 2nd batch from 15th March to 15th April 2026. A total of 15 delegates from various medical and allied health institutions were successfully trained in the innovative field of cadaveric preservation.
Two weeks, Module 1 - consisted of a 15-day online lecture session, during which experts delivered lectures on key topics, including an introduction to plastination techniques and their applications, reference management tools, biostatistics, the process of research paper publication, ethical and biosafety considerations in plastination, and troubleshooting common issues in plastination techniques. This online module provided a strong theoretical foundation.

Achievement

Two weeks, Module 2 focused on hands-on training, enabling delegates to actively engage in each step of the plastination process. Participants gained comprehensive skills in plastination techniques.

Expected Outcome

• The plastination hands-on training program will sensitise medical faculties of various institutions to motivate & to initiate plastination techniques in their parent institution.
• This training program is expected to help the institute faculty to gain confidence to start up with new advanced plastination techniques, which could result in the production of plastinate specimens for teaching with real human specimens & also the biggest aim to minimise the formalin exposure.
• The plastinate specimens are easy to maintain, no gloves required, odourless, long-lasting, flexible, lifelike & aesthetically pleasing.
• Use of more plastinate specimens by institutions is expected to encourage the students who are the stakeholders to handle these real anatomical specimens for effective learning
• Replacing dissected formalin-preserved wet specimens with plastinate specimens & this replacement will also conserve the time & energy of skilled hands production of specimens, thereby allowing focus on other skills development or research.