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20/20
Air Date: Friday, February 15, 2008
Time Slot: 10:02 PM-11:00 PM EST on ABC
Episode Title: "N/A"
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

A BRIAN ROSS UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION: THE REAL HUMAN BODIES ON DISPLAY IN THE BLOCKBUSTER EXHIBITS THAT MILLIONS ARE PAYING TO SEE -- WHOSE BODIES ARE THEY AND WHERE DID THEY COME FROM? -- ON "20/20," FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15

Also: The Miracle Girl � Panama Plane Crash Survivor Speaks to Elizabeth Vargas About Harrowing Ordeal

Plasticized bodies � every vein, muscle, organ and bone of what was once a real person, carefully preserved in ways that were not possible before � have become blockbuster attractions across the country. Millions of people have paid to see the bodies that are put on display in a full range of poses, such as running with a football or dancing. But with the growing popularity have come troubling questions about the bodies. Where do they come from? And are the exhibits educational and scientific, as some people say, or are these cadavers just being used for entertainment? A three-month "20/20" investigation into the business of bodies tracked the ghoulish process to its origins -- from a body processing factory on the German-Polish border, to internet sites that offer the plasticized bodies for sale, to a rundown warehouse in northern China where "20/20's" undercover cameras saw what has, until now, been kept well hidden. ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross' exclusive investigation airs on "20/20," FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

And: Francesca "Frankie" Lewis, the 12-year-old girl who miraculously survived a plane crash in Panama just a few weeks ago, speaks with Elizabeth Vargas about the 52 harrowing hours she spent hanging upside down in the plane's wreckage, dreaming of home and calling out the names of her deceased travel companions. The report also includes interviews with Frankie's parents and the mother of Frankie's friend, Talia, who died in the crash, as well as the courageous rescuers who put their own lives on the line to save the young girl.

"20/20" is anchored by Elizabeth Vargas and John Stossel. David Sloan is executive producer.

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