Data released today has prompted calls for more people to register as organ donors.

2020 saw a 16 per cent reduction in organ donors compared to 2019.

It was reported around 1650 Australians are currently waitlisted for transplants, and thousands more on dialysis are likely to need a kidney.

“The key reason is because of COVID, and more so because [of] the number of transplants dropping,” CEO of the Organ and Tissue Authority Lucinda Barry told Deborah Knight.

Transplants were paused during 2020, with only urgent surgeries going ahead, as people who have received a transplant are unable to fight viruses.

“At the start of the pandemic, no one really knew the impact that COVID would have on someone receiving a transplant.”

With the data confirming the drop in transplants, Australians are called to register to be organ donors and tell families of their decision.

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview 

Image: Getty