It's a simple act, but something the 68-year-old was unable to do less than 12 months ago.

After suffering for years with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as Mr McCaffery put it, he was "on his last legs".

A few years prior he was rushed to hospital after accidentally inhaling chemicals he was using to treat a soil issue on his truffle farm. While he survived the incident, it left his lungs permanently damaged.

After years of deterioration, Mr McCaffery had one last hope for survival - a new set of lungs.

"I had COPD very bad and that was it. I came out of hospital having barely survived that and I was OK for a few years. But then it just started attacking me," he said.

"It got worse daily and I could feel it - my body just slowly giving up. I was eventually sent down to Hobart and the doctor took one look at me and said - 'my friend, your lungs are gone. The only thing for you is a transplant'.

Originally from South Africa, Mr McCaffery said he had vivid memories of when Dr Christiaan Barnard performed the world's first heart transplant in Cape Town in 1967.

"We had followed his journey and I just couldn't believe it at the time," he said.

"Then to think 40 years down the track almost the same thing happens to me. Unbelievable."

Mr McCaffery was on the transplant list for about three years. While his health continued to deteriorate to the point where he could barely walk or breathe on his own, he said he never lost hope.

"I was actually very positive, but at one particular stage in the middle of last year, I was starting to get a bit worried," he said.

"I could feel myself going. I have always been an active chap and I just remember thinking - I don't want to go now."

At any given time in Australia there about 1700 people like Mr McCaffery waiting for a transplant.

Beyond that, there's a further 12,000 people on dialysis.

DonateLife Tasmania communications officer Davin Hibberd said it was important people understood the impact organ donation could have on somebody.

"The circumstances that families find themselves in when donation could occur, are typically very sudden and often very tragic. So a family hasn't had any time to prepare for conversations around end of life," he said.

"So it's important people register as a donor and have those conversations with family. For some of them, they're effectively waiting for the gift of life to ultimately change their life.

"Certainly for someone like Noel, he most certainly wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for a generous donor and their family that said yes."

Now about a year on from his double lung transplant and Mr McCaffery has a whole new lease on life.

Calling himself a lazy farmer, he is now making the most of his retirement with wife Karen, their dogs and their truffles.

Mr McCaffery said he found it difficult to put into words how grateful he was to be alive.

"I can't describe it... the thanks I have for my donor and whoever their family was," he said.

"Because you don't appreciate life until you almost lose it. I didn't. But to know you are either going to die or some generous soul has given you something so ... unbelievable."

DonateLife Week runs from July 26 to August 2, to highlight the importance of organ and tissue donation and the benefits for transplant recipients and their families in Australia.

During DonateLife Week we are encouraging all Tasmanian's to register as an organ and tissue donor, and to talk to their family and friends about their decision.

Registration is easy and takes less than a minute. All you need is your Medicare card number to register online.

You can also register: