An inability to get clinical and hospital support for transplants is behind the axing of Australia's peak organisation for organ donation, federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says.
The federal government is about to shut down Australians Donate, a group aimed at raising awareness about organ donation in Australia.
A new committee, made up of representatives from the state and federal governments as well as clinicians, will be formed to lift Australia's poor organ donation rates.
Ms Roxon said AD had a "limited lifetime" and was due to expire at the end of March.
She said 5.5 million people were on Australia's organ donor register, but only a fraction of that number actually became donors - because relatives didn't know the wishes of their loved ones or refused to allow their organs to be donated.
She said it was important to turn the widespread register support into actual donations in the hospitals.
Australians Donate figures show only 198 people donated organs last year.
"It isn't a simple process as many people would understand. It is normally talking to families, when a loved one has been in a car accident or a traumatic accident," Ms Roxon said.
"Families don't have time to plan for it, and we need the proper clinical practices ... to make sure the will of the community turns into increased transplantation rates."
Although AD had raised community awareness, Ms Roxon said, it had not been as successful in getting the clinical and hospital support for transplants.
But Australians Donate (AD) executive Marcia Coleman said a collaborative project involving more than 20 Australian hospitals had seen donor rates increase by 32.4 per cent.
She said the project had been such a success the various state health departments would continue the collaboration under different project managers, instead of AD.
"While people are saying AD has failed, the fact is AD's major initiative ... is being continued," Ms Coleman said.
