DonateLife Week, 2022: Australian states leading the way for donations

Last year there were 110 deceased organ donors in Victoria, which allowed for 296 life-changing, and often life-saving, organ transplants.

But, the the state's rate of consent, which stands at 55 per cent, is slightly below the national rate of 56 per cent, data from the Organ and Tissue Authority reveals.

Across Australia during 2021, there were 421 deceased organ donors which resulted in 1174 organ recipients.

This DonateLife Week, Aussies are reminded that families are always asked for final consent before allowing their loved one to be a donor in hospital.

South Australians have the highest consent rate in Australia when it comes to organ donation, with three in four families (73 per cent) agreeing.

During the 12-month period in SA, there were 50 deceased organ donors which allowed for 119 organ transplants.

The country's most populous state, NSW, had 109 donors during the 12-month period, which resulted in 320 organ transplants. The consent rate was 51 per cent.

In Queensland there was 91 donors, which led to 275 organ transplants. There was a 61 per cent consent rate.

Western Australia's consent rate of 58 per cent was slightly above the national rate. There were 44 donors and 113 organ transplants.

In the Australian Capital Territory, there were eight donors during the year, with 24 organ transplants. This was a consent rate of 48 per cent.

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Tasmania's 54 per cent consent rate meant there were seven donors and 21 organ transplants.

The Northern Territory has the lowest consent rate at 18 per cent, with just two donors during the 12-month period. This resulted in six organ transplants.

Last year, there were 349,947 new registrations on the Australian Organ Donor Register, with the majority (110,331) coming from NSW. Other registrations included:

There are currently around 1850 people who are waitlisted for an organ transplant, and an additional 13,000 people on dialysis - some who may need a kidney transplant one day.

In Australia, families of potential donors are always asked to consent to their family member becoming a donor in hospital.

Nine out of 10 families gave consent to donation when their family member was registered to be a donor. This dropped to only four out of 10 families who gave consent to donation when their family didn't know they wanted to be a donor.

Register and tell your family you want to be an organ donor at www.donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today