THE numbers of organ donors and recipients have reached their highest level since 1989, when record keeping began.

In the past year there has been a 12 per cent increase in the number of organ transplant recipients and an 11 per cent rise in the number of organ donors, according to the annual report of the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority.

''The rates are going up but there's a lot more to do if we're to be at the level where we can meet the level of demand,'' the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Catherine King, said.

The number of transplant recipients rose from 896 to 976 between 2009 and last year, according to the authority's report, and the number of organs transplanted went up from 940 to 1018.

But Australia's level of organ donation is still low compared with countries such as Spain, France, Belgium and Germany.

In 2008, the then-prime minister, Kevin Rudd, announced the multimillion-dollar DonateLife campaign to raise awareness of organ donation. An analysis of the federal government's television campaign advertisements found they had contributed to a rise in the number of people who were willing to become donors.

''Anecdotally, we're hearing that in intensive-care units people are bringing it up or are not scared when it is raised with them,'' Ms King said.

Between July last year and March this year, the number of people who said they had spoken to their family about their donation wishes had climbed from 48 per cent to 60 per cent, the authority reported.

The campaign was also effective among young people and men, two groups that had previously recorded the lowest level of awareness of organ donation.

The number of 18- to 29-year-olds who talked about organ donation with their families climbed by 15 percentage points to 59 per cent.

The number of men discussing the issue climbed by 12 percentage points to 57 per cent.

Most of the people on the organ donor transplant list are waiting to receive a kidney.

The chief executive of Kidney Health Australia, Anne Wilson, said: ''Whilst we can be pleased with this outcome to date, there are close to 1700 people in Australia on organ transplant waiting lists for whom time is of the essence.

''We need to increase Australia's organ donation rate and donor numbers each year.''

The Sun-Herald is a supporter of Transplant Australia's Journey of Hope campaign, which encourages people to discuss the issue and to register as donors.

To register as an organ donor see donatelife.gov.au, visit your local Medicare office to fill out a form or call 1800 777 203.