30% of Ontarians now registered as organ donors, agency says

TORONTO -- A Crown agency says 30 per cent of Ontarians have registered to donate their organs.

The Trillium Gift of Life Network says this is a milestone for Ontario.

It says eight communities in Ontario have 50 per cent of residents registered as donors, all in central and northern Ontario.

And in the 2015-16 fiscal year, more than 340,000 Ontarians registered as donors, which the agency says is the highest number ever recorded in one year.

But it says that as many of 45 per cent of people in Ontario believe they are registered to be donors because they have a paper donor card.

In fact, it says, those donor cards are no longer used. To formally register, Ontarians should go to the website BeADonor.ca.