German anatomist Gunther von Hagens has sparked renewed controversy by offering "plastinated" body parts for sale.

The organs were made available on Friday from Hagens' center in Guben in the state of Brandenburg. The center has been dubbed the "Supermarket of Death" by German daily newspaper Bild.

In a process invented by Hagens, skin and other tissues are removed from parts of the body which are then preserved within a synthetic resin. Items on sale include a blackened smokers' lung for 3,600 euros ($4,475) and a testicle for 360 euros ($444).

Sales 'to professionals only'

Hagens - who some in the media refer to as Doctor Death - said in a statement that he would only sell to "qualified" individuals and organizations such as doctors, professors, teaching institutes and hospitals.

But the business has proved controversial and protestant church leaders in the state of Brandenburg have called for a ban on the sales, fearing that the items could be bought as objects of curiosity.

However, a spokesman for the interior ministry said that no outright ban was deemed necessary.

In 2002, Hagens risked arrest conducting Britain's first public autopsy in 170 years. Last year, he staged an exhibition in Berlin that showed dead bodies arranged as though they were having sexual intercourse.

rc/dpa/epd/AFP
Editor: Kyle James