A new injectable beauty treatment made from fat obtained from donated cadavers is becoming increasingly popular in the US, with more than 2,000 patients using it by May 2025, according to its manufacturer.The product, called AlloClay (pronounced “aloe-clay”), is a “lunchtime boob job” that takes less than an hour to inject, requires no general anesthesia and has minimal downtime. A 12.5cc syringe can cost up to $2,250, with patients paying between $13,000 and $50,000 for treatment.
‘zombie filler‘ on the rise
The product uses “off-the-shelf” fat, cadaver tissue processed to remove DNA, and is marketed as an alternative to traditional fat grafting, where a patient’s own fat is removed via liposuction and transferred elsewhere.The rise of GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic has increased demand, as patients who have lost significant weight want to add weight back in areas such as the breasts, buttocks, and face.“These patients are finding that because they have lost a significant amount of weight, they have also become disfigured in some areas where they have lost the original targeted volume,” Caroline Van Hove, president of Tiger Aesthetics, the company that makes Eloclay, told CNN. “In areas that, in their opinion, define their femininity.”
ethical concerns and complications
Critics have raised ethical questions about making profits from donated bodies. “This is really betraying altruism to make money. I think it’s an ethical problem,” Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, told CNN.Some patients have experienced complications. One patient who spent $13,000 on treatment developed fat necrosis — dying tissue — and noticed yellow fluid leaking from her injection site. “It looked oily, thick and yellow,” he said.Tiger Aesthetics said it has had no confirmed cases of graft rejection or infection, adding that injection “technique is very important.” After New York State blocked distribution of the product, Tiger Aesthetics filed a lawsuit against the state’s health department.