A multicultural health service believes more effort is needed to encourage more migrants from a non English speaking background to register as organ donors.
New figures from the Organ and Tissue Authority show there was a three per cent drop last year in the number of Australians registering as organ donors.
The figures show there were 378 deceased organ donors in 2014 compared with 391 deceased donors in 2013.
Federal and state governments have launched awareness campaigns over recent years targeted specifically at improving donor rates in migrant and Indigenous communities.
The federal government announced over $460,000 worth of grants late last year aimed at raising awareness on organ donation in migrant and Indigenous communities.
The Director of the NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service Peter Todaro said he believed some migrants were reluctant to register as organ donors because of negative experiences in their homelands.
He said this was especially true for many Chinese migrants because of concerns over organ harvesting.
"We've actually had discussions with people about that and the harvesting issue is related to two things," Mr Todaro said.
"One is their homeland. But there is also a concern that if I register as a donor, would that mean that if I'm in hospital and I'm sick, I won't get the same treatment. Of course that's just a perception and that doesn't happen."
Mr Todaro said it has been critical to get more community and religious leaders to promote organ donation.
"Most religions agree with organ donation and most of them see it as giving life," he said.
"But from my perspective, there is often very little conversation in homes about becoming an organ donor. People also need to register too and they have to make an effort."
"We're emphasising to people that if you register as an organ donor, we won't go beyond what your family says," Mr Todaro said.
"So if your family says no, then clinicians won't take that deceased person's organs."
"But I think we need to do a lot more work to inform people about organ donation, that it's safe and that you'll be treated fairly," he added.
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