With around 1500 Australians currently wait-listed for a transplant, and a further 11,000 on dialysis I'd like to stress how important and simple registration is.

You only need to set aside one minute, have your Medicare card handy and go to donatelife.gov.au.

Make 2020 the year you make a New Year's resolution that can make a difference by registering as an organ and tissue donor.

It's important not only to consider registering but also talk to your family about organ donation. January is a time where friends and family get together, which gives people ample opportunity to take five minutes and talk with one another about becoming a registered donor.

Use the time you're spending with friends and family this holiday to get together and talk about organ donation, and take the step to register as a donor.

If you want to be an organ and tissue donor when you die, your family needs to know - it's as simple as that."

A main reason that families decline donation is because they simply don't know what their loved one wanted when they die. Families usually agree to donation if you are registered and if they know what you want.

Locals are being urged to count themselves in, not rule themselves out, and leave the decision if you are able to be a donor up to the doctors when the time comes.

You are never too old to register and having a few drinks and or eating unhealthy won't stop you from being a donor.

Even if you can't become an organ donor many people go on to become eye, skin and tissue donors.

A cornea transplant can restore sight, a skin graft will heal a sever burn, and tissue can help repair genetic defects.

Through organ donation, transplant recipients are given a second chance at life - having an active role within their family, returning to work and planning for a future.

In the last decade more than 11,000 Australians have received an organ transplant thanks to 4,000 donors and their families.

To register as an organ and tissue donor, and to find out more go to donatelife.gov.au.