A woman who was denied permission to receive a kidney donation from an Australian man is rejecting suggestions he was a "cult" member who may have been brainwashed.

"He is a spiritual religious young man with a mind of his own and pretty intellectual and very articulate. A very bright young man," Sandi Sabloff told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.

Sabloff, who suffers from chronic kidney failure, came in contact with 22-year-old Ash Falkingham over the Internet. After some communication, it was agreed that Falkingham would travel to Canada from Australia to donate his kidney to Sabloff while she covered his travelling expenses.

After arriving in Canada, Falkingham passed all the testing required ahead of a kidney donor operation.

But the Toronto General Hospital halted the process after receiving a letter from Falkingham's step-father and mother indicating he had been brainwashed by a religious group called the Jesus Christians.

Sabloff, who was aware of Falkingham's religious affiliation, said that organ donation was a common practice for members of the group.

About half of its members have donated organs in the past, Sabloff said.

"Members have talked about it, granted, and it has caught on. People have felt that this is a good thing to do, because that is one of the objectives in the Christian Community," she told CTV's Canada AM.

She also indicated Falkingham was willing to promote the issue of organ donation in Canada. However, hospital officials eventually denied the donor request, saying they felt the procedure would bring negative publicity.

But Sabloff is baffled by their reasoning, she said, because doctors were aware Falkingham was participating in a documentary before his arrival in Canada.

Sabloff maintains that Falkingham met the factors required to be a donor. He was a physical match, he was not coerced, and he was not offered money for the donor operation, Sabloff said.

Hospital officials have said patient confidentiality rules prevent them from commenting on specific cases.

The hospital is said to have questioned whether Falkingham may have been coerced into donating by the so-called "kidney cult," according to The Canadian Press.

Falkingham was scheduled to undergo surgery on April 30 and spent 10 weeks in Canada awaiting the procedure.

Arthur Schafer, director of the Ethics Centre at the University of Manitoba, believes the doctors made the right decision.

"Most Canadians, I think are going to respond by thinking ... this is bizarre and it's a kind of red flag," Shafer told Canada AM.

Shafer says that while live donations are mostly safe, doctors would have strongly considered medical risks and the possibilities of coercion before making their decision. He also added that live donors may die or receive infections as a result of donating an organ.

Sabloff's experience reflects the larger issue of organ donation shortages in this country, Shafer said.

"We have a serious shortage in Canada of organs for transplant and, in particular, there are hundreds of patients waiting, some of whom may die because they won't get a catavaric donation of a kidney," Shafer said.

According to the Australian media, Falkingham had come to Canada because he would not have been able to make a similar donation in his native country unless he had a long-term friendship with the donor recipient.

It was widely reported in Australia earlier this week that Falkingham returned home to Sydney without donating his organs.

With files from The Canadian Press