Every British Columbian who visits a driver licensing office will be asked to register with the province's organ transplant program beginning Monday.

It's part of a partnership between the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia — the province's public vehicle insurer — and B.C. Transplant.

Last year, ICBC launched a pilot project at four licensing offices. That project added 15,000 names to B.C.'s organ registry and was viewed as a success. It's hoped the province-wide pilot will increase those numbers even more.

"It's a difficult topic," said Ed Ferre, provincial operations director at B.C. Transplant. "You have to contemplate your own mortality and the mortality of your loved ones

"But you register once and it's done, and I think it's a good conversation to have."

Beginning Monday, greeters will approach all visitors to B.C. driver licensing offices. Visitors can fill out a form at the office or register online.

Ferre said residents can specify what organs they wish to donate or they can decline donation altogether. He said he hopes residents register regardless of their choice.

A 'social duty'

"Organ donation should be part of an end-of-life care, and something every individual in the province should consider almost as a social duty," he said in an interview.

Ferre said B.C. Transplant chose to partner with ICBC because all drivers must, at some point, renew their licenses.

Last year's pilot was initiated, in part, because statistics showed that about 50 per cent of B.C. residents believed they had registered their organ donation wishes. In fact, only 21 per cent of British Columbians had actually registered, said Lindsay Olsen of ICBC.

Elaine Yong, whose daughter Addison received a heart transplant as an infant in 2011, urged residents to register.

"We need people to ... sign up, to have conversations with their loved ones," said Yong.

Her daughter, who was diagnosed with a heart defect when she was three weeks old, would not have survived with a transplant.

"Everything that she has done since she was 25 days old is only thanks to the incredible gift of life that we were given by her donor, and her donor mom, saying yes, in a time of terrible tragedy for them," Yong told reporters at a news conference Sunday.

A person can still be an organ donor even if they don't register if their family agrees. Residents can register online at B.C. Transplant.