MORE than 300 staff at Tweed Hospital got together on Tuesday to talk organs.

Not the big wind instruments found in churches new and old but the kind that can be donated.

North Coast area director of organ donation Dr Mike Lindley-Jones and staff from the hospital held a special sausage sizzle to raise awareness of the issue within their own ranks.

The problem facing Australians today is 90% of the population are in support of organ donation however only 50% will consent to it.

Dr Lindley-Jones and his team encouraged staff at the barbecue to talk to their families about registering to become donors before it’s too late.

“It’s a difficult decision to make when a loved one is dying,” he said.

“If we can encourage people to discuss the decision now, it’s much easier to decide.”

Mr Lindley-Jones also said while the Tweed area donation rate had gone up significantly, from one per year to six in the last financial year, more needed to be done.

“It’s a start but we know Australia still has one of the poorest organ donation rates in the world,” he said.

“In Australia the figures are roughly 13 donations per million people in the population. In Spain it’s more like 40 per million.”

More than 12 donations can come from one person’s organs including the lungs, liver, eye corneas and kidneys, which can each benefit more than one person, the heart, pancreas, bone tissue and even skin.

“On average Australian donors save four lives with their organs.”

To find out more about organ donation, registering and how to broach the subject with loved ones visit www.donatelife.gov .au.