The majority of Australians support organ and tissue donation with 69 per cent saying they were willing to become organ and tissue donors, yet only 33 per cent of adults have joined the national register.

Many have not registered because they haven’t made time or are unsure about how to register.

During DonateLife Week this year, people are being asked to make the time to register online and to share their decision with family and friends.

Registration is important because it leaves your family in no doubt of your decision to save lives.

Increasing rates of organ donation enabled a record 707 Australians to receive lifesaving transplants in the first six months of this year. A new annual record was also set in 2015, of 1241 organ recipients.

Currently about 1500 Australians are waiting for a lifesaving transplant, with a further 12,000 people undergoing dialysis while waiting for a new kidney.

If you’re willing to one day save lives as a donor, make sure you join the Australian Organ Donor Register and share your decision with loved ones. And ask them, if they haven’t yet registered, ‘What are they waiting for?’.

To register online to save lives visit donatelife.gov.au The DonateLife website provides a simple online page to self-select your preferred method of joining the register.

Once you have registered, you’ll then be taken to a page with simple options for sharing your status as a registered donor online to encourage others to make time to sign up today.

DonateLife Week is Australia’s national awareness week to promote organ and tissue donation and is led by the Organ and Tissue Authority. To find out how to help #endthewait visit http://www.donatelife.gov.au/end-the-wait-campaign