DonateLife

06/03/2026

Most Australians support organ and tissue donation, but only 35% of us are registered.

One organ donor can save up to 7 people and change the lives of many more through eye and tissue donation. So, if you want to be an organ and tissue donor, take a minute to register today and let your family know. Your family is twice as likely to agree to donation if they know you want to be a donor at the end of your life.

Register as an organ and tissue donor at donatelife.gov.au or through Medicare. Then, tell your family you want to be a donor.

03/03/2026

Very few people can become an organ donor.

Here’s the break down in numbers: 👇

🏥 Each year around 89,000 people die in Australian hospitals, but not all of them can be considered for organ donation.

🩷 Last year only around 1,670 people died in a way that organ donation could be considered.

✅ of those, 1,500 families were asked about donation and 790 said yes.

🤗 This resulted in 557 people becoming donors.

With such a small number of potential donors, it’s so important to register. And, tell your family you want to be a donor so they know what you want at the end of your life.

Take a look at all the 2025 donation and transplantation data: donatelife.gov.au/data

02/03/2026

Yesterday, OTA CEO Lucinda Barry AM joined the Hon Rebecca White MP in Hobart to announce the release of the 2025 donation and transplantation data.

They were grateful to donor mum Michele, who shared her son Aaron’s story. He became an organ donor after a tragic car accident at 20-years-old. Michele knew he wanted to be an organ and tissue donor, so she and her family agreed, and Aaron saved the lives of 4 people.

In Australia, your family is always asked to agree to donation. Of the 1,500 families approached about donation in 2025, 790 families agreed, with 557 people becoming donors.

Around 8 in 10 families agree to donation in the hospital if their family member is registered. Only 4 in 10 families agree to donation when they don’t know if their family member wanted to be a donor.

Only around 2% of people who die in Australian hospitals meet the criteria required to be an organ donor. With such a small number of potential donors, it’s never been more important to register and tell your family you want to be a donor.

Explore the 2025 donation and transplantation data at donatelife.gov.au/data

01/03/2026

Sienna was one of the 1,438 Australians whose life was saved in 2025 because of an organ donor 🫶🏻

After overcoming cancer as a child, scans revealed her heart was "working under half of what it should".

01/03/2026

Today Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon. Rebecca White MP Rebecca White announced the 2025 donation and transplantation data. This is a snapshot of key organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation data– living and deceased – for 2025.

The Assistant Minister was joined by our CEO Lucinda Barry AM and Michele, who generously shared her son Aaron’s story to raise awareness of the importance of talking to your family about organ and tissue donation.

Aaron became an organ donor after he died in a tragic car accident at 20-years-old. When Aaron’s medical team asked his family about donation, they already knew Aaron wanted to be an organ and tissue donor because they’d discussed it as a family. They agreed to donation and Aaron saved 4 lives.

Thanks to the generosity of 557 deceased organ donors and their families, 1,438 Australians had a life-saving organ transplant in 2025.

But there are still around 2,000 people on transplant waitlists, and 14,000 more on dialysis for kidney failure who need Australia's help.

So how can you help? If you want to be a donor, register at donatelife.gov.au and then talk to your family about donation.

Registering as an organ and tissue donor is one of the best ways you can help save more Australian lives. Your family is twice as likely to agree to donation if they know it’s what you wanted.

26/02/2026

One organ donor can save up to 7 lives and help many more through eye and tissue donation.

We’re asking Australians to take 2 simple steps: if you want to be a donor, make sure you tell your family; and register to be a donor. It only takes one minute at donatelife.gov.au 🌟

23/02/2026

After you register to be an organ and tissue donor, it’s important that you tell your family you want to be a donor.

Very few people can become organ donors, as only around 2% of people who die in Australian hospitals meet the criteria. Even if you’re registered, your family will always be asked to agree to donation before it proceeds. By telling your family, you leave them certain if the time ever comes.

Nina Seng is a Regional Nurse Manager with many years of experience guiding families through the donation process. Watch this video to learn more 👀

19/02/2026

When Scott contracted swine flu on a trip to the UK, his wife Phillipa never imagined it could be so serious. On return to Australia, he was admitted to ICU in an induced coma, and not long after she was told that his illness was not survivable.

Phillipa and Scott had talked about organ donation, so when the unbelievable happened, Phillipa knew what to do.

‘First of all, I was helping Scott fulfil what he wanted to do, which was a real honour and a privilege. But I knew that out there 2 Australians were getting phone calls that would completely change the course of their lives,’ she said.

16/02/2026

Teachers, we’ve got something to make planning your term one lessons a little easier!

In partnership with Cool.org we developed 9 lessons about organ and tissue donation, aimed at Year 9 and 10 students 🎒

Each lesson has its own unique angle, including activities and information presented through video, media clippings, research papers and other forms of engaging content.

All the lessons are aligned with the Australian curriculum and cover a range of subjects like Health and Physical Education, Civics and Music.

Want to use the lessons for your planning, or pass them along to a teacher who might? Visit https://www.donatelife.gov.au/education-resources

12/02/2026

Are you always supporting DonateLife in the background but haven’t made it official?

If you’re passionate about organ and tissue donation, consider joining our amazing volunteer team. Our state and territory DonateLife agencies are always looking for volunteers to help raise awareness of organ and tissue donation and encourage more Aussies to register as donors.

There’s lots of different ways to get involved as a volunteer, with no minimum hours required.

Contact your local DonateLife agency to find out more at www.donatelife.gov.au/find-your-local-donatelife-agency

10/02/2026

We’re excited to be heading to Sydney Gay and Le***an Mardi Gras Fair Day this Sunday 15 Feb at Victoria Park, Camperdown 🌈

One misconception about organ and tissue donation is that your s*xual orientation excludes you from being a donor. This is simply not true.

While a person’s medical and social history will be considered by the medical team when they die, a person’s s*xual orientation, gender, gender identity or s*x characteristics do NOT prevent that person from becoming a donor.

If you want to find out more, come and chat with the DonateLife team at Fair Day - we’ll be there to answer questions, bust myths and help you register if you choose to ✨

06/02/2026

Aaron was a fit, athletic 15-year old when he started having dizzy spells at school. Shortly after a doctor found out his aortic valve was 78% closed, Aaron experienced severe cardiac arrest and had to go on life support. A donor heart saved Aaron’s life and allowed him to follow his sporting passions and start a family.

If every Australian currently registered as an organ donor asked just one friend to register, there could be an additional 7.8 million people registered as organ and tissue donors 🩷

The majority of Australians support organ and tissue donation, but only 36% of the eligible population are registered to be a donor.

Share this post and encourage just one person to register as an organ and tissue donor today. Registering is easy and only takes one minute at www.donatelife.gov.au 🌟