The latest K-beauty craze is made from dead Americans' skin. Now it's aiming for the US.
A growing K-beauty trend utilizing human tissue donated by deceased Americans is expanding toward the US market. While donated tissue is standard for medical reconstructions, the commercialization of skin-derived aesthetic injections highlights ethical questions regarding the global tissue supply chain.
Why it matters
The intersection of tissue donation and the multi-million-dollar global beauty industry raises complex ethical and regulatory questions about informed consent and commercialization.
Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI A hot, new beauty treatment driving tens of millions of dollars in sales around the globe is now aiming for the US market. Its unusual ingredient: skin from dead Americans. Each year, tens of thousands of Americans donate bodily tissue upon their deaths, generally by checking a box at a motor vehicle department or through an authorization made by a loved one. Over the past few years, tens of millions of dollars' worth of donated skin has traveled from American tissue banks to biotech companies in South Korea, the beauty capital of the world. There, among other uses, it is turned into injectable beauty treatments. The maker of the market-leading Korean brand said last week it has signed a distribution contract to introduce its skin-derived injection to the US market next year.
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