Only 527 of around 1,630 potential organ donors became donors in 2024 due to medical and logistic reasons. With 1,800 Australians currently on the transplant waitlist, this report highlights the critical need to increase the consent rate for organ donation to meet the demand for transplants. It suggests that efforts should be directed towards improving public awareness and family discussions about organ donation.

Key findings

• Of the 89,000 people who died in Australian hospitals in 2024, only 2% died in a way where organ donation could be considered.
• In Australia, the family is always asked to agree to donation. 1,450 families were asked to consent to donation. Of these, 767 families said yes to donation, representing a national consent rate of 53%.
• With only a small number of potential donors, increasing consent is critical to increasing the donation rate.
• There are around 1,800 Australians on the waitlist for a transplant and an additional 14,000 people on dialysis.
• In 2024, there was a 3% increase in the number of deceased organ donors compared with 2023, although overall there were fewer organs suitable for transplantation, resulting in a 5% decrease in transplant recipients.