That's a good start, but you also need to discuss your decision with your family and friends. Even if you are on the Australian Organ Donor Register (or, in some states, you have ticked the box on your driver's licence), donation won't proceed without your family's consent. If your family know your wishes to be an organ donor, they are more likely to give consent. It's also important for you to know your family's wishes.

Read more: Starting the discussion

Not true. Australia operates on the ‘opt in' system where you choose whether to be a donor or not. If you have opted out by stating ‘no' on the Australian Organ Donor Register, donation will not proceed. If you have signed ‘yes' on the Register, or not registered at all, your family will still need to give consent.

Read more: Making the Decision to Become an Organ Donor

True. The family is always consulted about organ and tissue donation - if the family does not give consent, donation will not happen. Families rarely overrule a person's wishes if they know what they are. If you wish to be an organ donor, sign ‘yes' on the Australian Organ Donor Register and discuss your decision with your family. It is more likely your family will respect your wishes if they know your decision.

Read more: How can I start the discussion?

Most religions support organ and tissue donation as generous acts that benefit people. This includes Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism. If you are not sure whether your religion is supportive, speak to your religious adviser.

Read more: Organ Donation and Your Religion

You're never too old to be a donor. Anyone can donate organs and tissue. People in their eighties have saved the lives of much younger people. Transplant professionals decide which organs and tissues can be used at the time of death after looking at your past medical history, the condition of your organs and their suitability.

You're never too young to be a donor. Anyone can be a donor - young and old. If you are under 16 years you can't register to be a donor, but you can discuss your wishes with your parents.

You can still be a donor even if you drink or smoke, are overweight or have a chronic condition. There's every chance that some of your organs and tissues will be suitable for donation. Only some medical conditions may prevent you from being a donor, such as transmissible diseases like HIV.

You may still be able to donate your organs but not your tissues.

Not so. Medical staff do everything possible to save lives. Their first duty is to you and saving your life. Organ and tissue donation will only be considered after all efforts fail.

A person may only be able to donate organs where they have been declared brain dead in an intensive care unit in hospital. Brain death is when blood circulation to the brain ceases, and the brain stops functioning and dies with no possibility of recovery. A series of tests carried out by two independent and appropriately qualified senior doctors establishes that brain death has occurred.

People are sometimes confused about the difference between brain death and coma. Brain death is completely different from coma. A patient in a coma is unconscious because their brain is injured in some way, but their brain can continue to function and may heal. Medical tests can clearly distinguish between brain death and coma.

Organ donation may also be possible after a person's heart has stopped beating, commonly referred to as donation after cardiac death or donation after circulatory death.

A far greater number of people have the opportunity to donate tissue for transplantation. Tissue donation does not require the donor's death to have occurred in the same limited circumstances as organ donation for transplantation to be successful.

Your organs will not be removed until two senior doctors have separately tested that you are brain dead. The clinical tests for brain death establish there is no brain function and no blood flow to the brain. At this point, there is no possibility your brain will ever function again.

Read more: Donation after death

Because your death is likely to have been sudden, your family will be in shock. It will be difficult for them to make decisions. However, research shows families that make the decision to donate are very glad they did, most saying the person who died would have been happy to have saved other people's lives. It will be easier for your family to make the decision if they know how you feel about it. Your family will be supported by trained DonateLife donor coordinators and counsellors during and after the donation.

Read more: Donor Family Support

Yes you will. Your body will be treated with respect and dignity at all times and your family will be able to view your body and have an open casket if they wish. No one will be able to tell that you have donated your organs and tissues.

Read more: Organ Donation Process

Many people have an inherited genetic condition, a severe illness or disease that will kill them, often at a young age. Common genetic conditions are cardiomyopathy (which affects the heart), cystic fibrosis (the lungs) and biliary atresia (the liver). Corneal transplants restore sight to people following a disease or damage to their eyes. Heart valves are used to repair congenital defects in young children and replace defective valves due to disease such as rheumatic fever, degeneration and infection.

Few people die in such a way that donation is possible. Organ donors need to die in hospital where their body can be kept on a ventilator until the organs can be donated. In 2011, there were 337 deceased organ donors. In some cases, families do not give consent for donation to take place because they did not know the wishes of their deceased family member.

Read more: About Organ and Tissue Donation

Not true. There is never any charge for donating organs and tissues. Depending on the hospital, your family might be charged for the cost of all final efforts to save your life and those costs are sometimes misinterpreted as costs related to organ donation. Your family will be responsible for your funeral expenses.

Not true. If your family wishes it, the DonateLife donor coordinator who assists your family will stay in contact. They can provide information about which organs and tissues were transplanted, how the recipients are faring and limited information about the recipients. Donor families and recipients can write to each other anonymously through the donor coordinator, but the law says the identity of donors and recipients cannot be shared.

Organ donation is about helping save or improve other people's lives. Donated tissues and organs will never be used for medical research unless explicit written permission is given by your family. If any organ or tissue that has been donated is unable to be transplanted and your family are not comfortable donating to a research program, they can choose to have the organ or tissue returned to their loved one's body or respectfully disposed.

Not true. All donations and transplants are performed by specialised teams of clinicians in the Australian public health system. Everyone is assessed in the same way. Celebrities receive media attention when they receive a transplant, but they are treated no differently from anyone else.

Australia has strict ethical guidelines about allocation of organs. Allocation is based on several factors, including urgency, the organ match and how much the recipient will benefit. Other considerations include the length of time on the official waiting list, and access to the relevant hospital. A person's identity or social status is not taken into consideration.

Read more: About Transplantation.