• Kidney transplant recipient Grace Anderson of Chatham with an organ donator poster during the announcement of successful outcomes data for the kidney transplant program at Albany Medical Center Tuesday March 25, 2015 in Albany, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) Photo: John Carl D'Annibale / 00031162A
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Kidney transplant recipient Grace Anderson of Chatham with an organ donator poster during the announcement of successful outcomes data for the kidney transplant program at Albany Medical Center Tuesday March 25, 2015 in Albany, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

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Kidney transplant recipient Grace Anderson of Chatham with an organ donator poster during the announcement of successful outcomes data for the kidney transplant program at Albany Medical Center Tuesday March

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Photo: John Carl D'Annibale
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ALBANY (AP) — Efforts by the state and nonprofit organizations to boost the number of New Yorkers registered to donate their organs are paying off.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that more than 5 million New Yorkers are now enrolled in the New York State Donate Life Registry as organ donors. The Democrat says organ donation rates have reached historic levels thanks to several coordinated efforts.

Those efforts include the state Department of Health working with the group Donate Life New York State to create a more modernized and expanded registry that streamlined the process.

An executive order issued last year by Cuomo has also helped increase donors by allowing state agencies to provide opportunities for people to enroll in the registry when applying for government benefits, services and licenses.