NEW YORK STATE (WENY) -- April is National Donate Life Month and advocates are pushing for people to consider signing up for the state registry list. Assemblyman Phil Palmesano said his sister was a two-time kidney transplant recipient and encourages people to consider donating, as he's a living donor himself.

"There are 52 registries across our states and territories. New York is number 50 out of 52, just ahead of Puerto Rico and New Jersey. The national average donor enrollment rate is 64%. New York [is at] 47%. We have the third highest need for organ donor enrollment, but the third worst organ donor enrollment registry... That's unacceptable in my opinion. We can and must do better," said Palmesano.

Palmesano's sister Teresa was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when she was a teenager. Over her life, the disease affected her body, and when she gave birth to her daughter Taylor in 1994, her kidneys began to take a toll. Teresa began dialysis in 1999 and got the call she and her family had been hoping for in 2000.

"She got called for a kidney and pancreas transplant which was very exciting for her, not just for the kidney, but the pancreas because [she was] a diabetic," said Palmesano.

Palmesano said a few years later, Teresa needed another kidney transplant. He donated one of his own to his sister in 2006.

"She's my big sister. I loved her to death. I saw her when she was having to go spend four hours a day every other day, to get her blood cleaned from the toxins that were getting into her system. That wasn't a quality of life. She had a young daughter [and] she was missing valuable time with her. She's family, it was just a no-brainer for me," said Palmesano.

According to the Executive Director of Donate Life New York State Aisha Tator, there are about 8,000 people in the state alone waiting on a life-saving organ transplant. She said people should consider donating a loved one's organs, tissue, or eyes, no matter how hard it may be.

"It's easy to think and understand how in that moment, it would be very difficult to make the decision. But in reality, it is a gift... and it helps so much with healing. For example, I had a donor mom who was in the hospital and was holding the hand of [her] son and was grieving and he was not going to live and [she] knew that. So, the only thing [she] could do in that dark moment is, [she] could prevent another mom in another hospital from having to have these feelings. That's the sacrifice and that is the incredible emotional and very powerful experience that is the gift of donation," said Tator.

Tator said people don't typically understand or have awareness of organ, eye, [and/or] tissue donation unless they're touched or impacted by the mission.

"It's not top-of-mind for New Yorkers and they really don't realize the incredible magnitude and effect that they can have in saving other people's lives. One organ donor [after they pass away] can save eight people's lives and [help] heal the lives of [up to] 75 through eye and tissue donation," said Tator.

Tator said despite the low donor enrollment numbers, Donate Life New York State is making a lot of progress. She said New York now has 7.6 million people who have signed up to be somebody's hero.

"It's not that we don't have a lot of people on the registry, it's that we need to get to the 64-percent national average. To get there, we need 2.5 million New Yorkers to sign up. That's why we encourage people to document this decision in advance. You're giving your loved ones an incredible gift by not putting them in the position of having to decide and not knowing necessarily what your wishes were," said Tator.

She added, "There's a legacy that comes with donation. Some families have met with the transplant recipients and heard their child's heart beating in somebody else. Their son or their daughter is living on and doing incredible things, and they're watching another child be able to graduate high school, get married, and have children, and it was a gift from them and their child. That legacy is incredibly powerful."

Teresa passed away in 2013. Palmesano shares his family experience in hopes of encouraging others to become donors.

"What if it was your mom or dad, brother or sister, husband or wife, or God forbid your son or daughter and they [needed] a life-saving organ transplant? After hearing those numbers I gave you, you might think a little differently about it. I think that's something that's significant to encourage people to at least have that conversation with family members," said Palmesano.

If you'd like to sign up for the New York State Donate Life Registry, click here.

According to Donate Life NYS, every eight minutes, another person is added to the national transplant waitlist. It also mentions the majority of those need a kidney transplant.

If you choose to be a living donor, you can donate a kidney, a piece of your liver, and other certain organs and tissues. As a living donor, you can also choose who receives your organs.