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Organ, eye and tissue donation saves lives, restores health and improves the quality of life for thousands of Australians each year. But did you know that only 2% of people who die in hospital each year can be considered for organ donation? One organ donor can save the lives of up to 7 people and help many more through eye and tissue donation.
Download the 2021 Donation and Transplantation Activity Report for more detailed data and analysis.
Organ donation process
Organ donation is a rare event. It can only occur when someone dies is a hospital ICU or ED as organs must be working well to be able to be transplanted.
- Only around 2% of people who die in hospital can be considered for organ donation
- Families will always be asked to consent or say "yes" to donation
- The consent rate was 56% in 2021
- Donors need to be assessed as medically suitable at each step of the process
While the majority of Australians support organ and tissue donation, only around one in three (36%) are registered to be a donor.
Since the national program first began in 2009, more than 15,500 people have received life-saving organ transplants from 5,450 deceased organ donors.
Deceased organ donation and transplant recipients 2000-2021
2021 was the 2nd year of significantly reduced donation and transplantation services in Australia, due to the impact of COVID-19 on health care. It follows 10 years of continued growth since the national program was first established in 2009.
What can you do to help?
We know that 9 out of 10 families gave consent to donation when their family member was registered to be a donor. This dropped to only 4 out of 10 families who gave consent to donation when their family didn't know they wanted to be a donor.
An irregular heartbeat that would leave him feeling weak and exhausted suddenly became a part of James’s daily life when in his mid-twenties. “It was like having a drummer inside my chest who didn’t know how to keep a beat,” James said.
"Before my transplant, the simplest tasks, like walking my dogs, would completely exhaust me." Ailish fought a battle with Cystic Fibrosis from birth, but it was just as she finished high school that her health began to steadily decline.
Need more information?
Access our data reports from previous years and find out how we use data to increase the rates of donation and transplantation.
Quick downloads:
* From deceased donors
~ Approximately
Data sources:
- Australian Bureau of Statistics. 3101.0 Estimated Resident Population, June 2019. Australian Demographic Statistics (Released 19/12/2019).
- Australian Bureau of Statistics. 3302.0 Deaths, Australia, 2018 (Released 25/09/2019).
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2019. Admitted patient care 2017–18: Australian hospital statistics.
- Health services series no. 90. Cat. no. HSE 225. Canberra: AIHW.
- DonateLife Audit, January 2020 5 Deceased organ donation in Australia, Australia and New Zealand Organ Donor Registry, January 2020
