Cause of Death Trends and Comorbidity among Anatomical Donors in Scotland: Insights from Body Donation Programme Data (2013-2023)

Body donation is essential to anatomical education, providing students with opportunities to develop both technical skills and professional empathy. However, the clinical characteristics of donors, particularly their causes of death, remain underexplored in the UK. This study examines trends in cause of death among individuals who donated their bodies to the University of Glasgow over a ten-year period. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 848 donors accepted between 2013 and 2023. Data were anonymised and categorised by primary, secondary, and tertiary cause of death, including cancer, age-related frailty, infection, cardiovascular disease, and neurological conditions. Analyses and visualisations were performed using RStudio. Non-contagious infection was the most common primary cause of death (26.5%), followed by cancer (22.3%) and cardiovascular disease (19.3%). Neurological disorders (15.9%) and respiratory diseases (9.9%) were frequently reported as secondary causes. Nearly half of donors (48.8%) had no third recorded cause, likely due to documentation limitations or absence of comorbidities. These findings highlight the prevalence of comorbidity among donors and the evolving health profile of body donation populations in Scotland. They offer insight for donor programme planning, resource allocation, and the development of consent strategies that reflect changing demographic and clinical realities.