Just 22 percent of adult New Yorkers are registered organ donors.
Compare that with a national average of 48 percent.
That's according to a new Excellus BlueCross BlueShield study that also reveals 539 New Yorkers died last year waiting for an organ transplant, while another 381 became too sick to be eligible.
Martin Lustick is corporate medical director and senior vice president for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.
He says the low donor registration rate is not because New Yorkers are inheritantly ungenerous, but it's the lengthy and somewhat complicated registration process run by state government.
Lustick points out that states with much higher organ donation rates, up to 80 percent or more, typically have a nonprofit organization manage the registration process.
He adds there is funding in the state budget for the Health Department to find an outside organization to help increase registration.
So far, 3.4 million adults statewide have indicated their intent or given legal consent to donate their organs after they die.