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Bendigo Health is urging people to register as an organ donor this DonateLife week.

Liver recipient Jane Roulston waited more than 12 months for her new lease on life.

"I was on my death bed," she said.

"It just changed my life. I was so sick that there was no other way around it."

Jane received a new liver at the fourth time of asking after previous organs were not suitable and, in one instance, another person was considered more needy than her.

Jane’s story highlights how difficult it is to match organs with recipients and demonstrates how important it is to have a large pool of donors.

Bendigo Health organ donation nurse specialist Robyn Geldart said donation cans only happen in 1-2 per cent of people who die in hospital.

"It’s very, very rare. But one donation can change up to 10 peoples’ lives," she said.

Bendigo Health has had two successful liver donations this year, with another two donation opportunities that didn’t materialise. 

Organ donors are eligible if they die in an Intensive Care Unit at hospital either from brain death or circulatory death.

Once a person who is eligible and willing to donate is identified, various blood tests are conducted to determine the suitability of certain organs.

 Robyn said all everyone should have a conversation about organ donation.

"As a society we don’t talk about death and dying a lot these days. Death and dying is really hard to go through, because it’s my loved one, it’s our loved one, and that’s really trying. So for people to consider organ donation and say ‘yes’, it’s just a beautiful thing because you’re giving this amazing gift to people that they don’t even know," she said.

To register as a donor visit donatelife.gov.au