Health officials are celebrating a major milestone in the campaign to get British Columbians signed up for life-saving organ donations.

On Monday, B.C. Transplant announced the province has reached one million registered donors, thanks to a variety of ongoing efforts imploring people to sign up.

“Reaching this milestone means hope for the hundreds of British Columbians waiting for a transplant,” MLA Greg Kyllo said in a statement.

“I urge everyone to take two minutes now to register – you have the potential to change someone’s life forever.”

There are currently 613 people waiting for a transplant in the province, accoridng to health officials, and just one donor can save up to eight lives.

With this donor registration milestone, the government said it’s hopeful the province is on the cusp of a cultural shift toward embracing organ donation.

Though polls have found 95 per cent of British Columbians support the practice, only 21 per cent have actually registered to take part.

The one millionth person registered was Burnaby resident Wendy Bertelsen, who signed up at a registration drive where she works. She was presented with a certificate of thanks Monday from transplant recipient Joanne Arcado at a celebration at Vancouver General Hospital.

Arcado said to her, the people who volunteer to donate their organs are heroes.

“My donor’s last act in this world was to pass on life to me. I am so very grateful that they decided to register their decision and in the midst of their tragedy, saved my life,” she said in a statement.

B.C. credits some of its success to an easy-to-use online registration system, as well as a partnership allowing people to easily sign-up at any Service BC location.

That resulted in roughly 60,000 new registrations over the last year, an increase of 23,000 over the previous five-year average. Officials said similar partnerships are now underway at four ICBC locations and at Canadian Blood Services donor clinics.

Anyone who wants to register online can do so using their Personal Health Number and any computer or mobile device at the B.C. Transplant website.