Mr Barnes’ regime is strict. The process takes him four and a half hours, it is physically demanding and it is keeping him alive.

Three years ago, Mr Barnes’ kidneys failed. He was put on an active waiting list for organ donation that would change his life.

“(Organ transplant) is something I always think about...it would certainly make a big difference in my life,” Mr Barnes said. “For me to receive a kidney, it would be from a deceased person and it is hard, but you still hope to get the call every day and it’s got to be a match.”

This year’s DonateLife Week, which started on Sunday, is themed ‘end the wait' and urges Victorians to join the Australian Organ Donor Register online.

Mr Barnes was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease when he was 28 years old. Growing cysts would enlarge his kidney and gradually damaged the kidney tissue to the point when they failed.

Now aged 45, Mr Barnes said his life was not all doom and gloom. He maintains a healthy lifestyle and diet and has to carefully watch his fluid intake, which can often mean a fine line between dehydration and too much fluid.

As director of construction company SJ Weir, Mr Barnes works smarter by doing some paperwork on his iPad on dialysis and scheduling his dialysis in afternoons to get work done early then be fresher the next day.

Travel on short notice is tougher. Mr Barnes has to be assured he can have treatment at set times when away.

“It probably took me 12 months to get used to the way life changed with dialysis,” Mr Barnes said. “Before I was on it, I took my life for granted a bit. Dialysis really changes your life but is now part of my weekly routine.”

One third of Australians have registered their donation decision on the national donor register, despite almost 70 per cent of people indicating they would be willing to become a donor. DonateLife encourages people to talk about their decision with loved ones.