Binge drinking is blamed for a 76 per cent increase in 10 years in those needing a new liver, while the demand for kidney replacements is up 55 per cent. This week, a 14-point plan will try to tackle the donor shortage.

The UK is in the grip of a chronic organ donation crisis which is set to get worse as Britain's culture of excess drives a burgeoning obesity epidemic. The gap between the numbers of suitable donor organs and patients desperately needing them is getting wider every year.

Official figures show that three people a day are dying for want of an organ, but experts believe this is the tip of the iceberg, as many others are not put on transplant lists and are "dying silently". Figures show the numbers waiting for a transplant in the past 10 years has increased by 40 per cent to almost 9,700. Patients waiting for kidney transplants have increased by 55 per cent, while those hoping for livers are up 76 per cent. The situation is particularly critical for people from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups who make up nearly a quarter of those waiting, but must wait twice as long for organs as their white counterparts.

Experts warn that the chronic shortages will get worse, with greater longevity, soaring rates of diabetes, obesity, hepatitis C and the consequences of binge drinking leading to increasing demands for healthy donor organs.

The revelations come on the eve of a publication by a government task force set up to examine ways to help to solve the donor crisis. The task force report, to be published on Tuesday, recommends a 14-point plan to increase the number of registered donors by 50 per cent in five years by doubling the number of specialised staff, standardising training across the UK and strengthening out-of-hours services to get organs to where they are needed quickly. Strategies to reduce current inequalities with ethnic minorities are also included. Doctors believe thousands of lives could be saved if the Government implements all 14 recommendations.

However, some experts warn they do not go far enough in recognising the importance of healthier lifestyle choices to curb the demand for transplants, and improving the detection and treatment of conditions that can lead organ failure.

The report will not refer to the opt-out system recommended by the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, last July. Currently no organs or tissue can be taken for transplant without the consent of the deceased or their relatives - an opt-in scheme. Under the opt-out system, organs automatically become available for transplant unless a specific objection is made beforehand. Instead of carrying a donor card, objectors would carry non-donor cards. The task force's findings on Sir Liam's proposal are expected to be published in a second report this summer.

Gordon Brown last night threw his weight behind the call for a move to a policy of presumed consent. "A system of this kind seems to have the potential to close the aching gap between the potential benefits of transplant surgery in the UK and the limits imposed by our current system of consent," the Prime Minister said in The Sunday Telegraph.

Spain, which has Europe's best organ donation rate, introduced an opt-out scheme in 1979, but it had little impact until highly trained transplant co-ordinators were placed in every intensive care unit 10 years later. The success is attributed more to trained staff and a change in ethos, according to Rafael Matensaz, director of the Spanish National Organisation for Transplants.

According to doctors, our ageing population and the obesity epidemic are the two main reasons behind the increase in kidney failure, and both trends seem set to continue.

Mr Argiris Asderakis, transplant surgeon and transplant programme director at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, said: "An ageing population brings an increase in chronic disease. Second, we have a society with more blood pressure problems and more obesity, which is linked to the type 2 diabetes epidemic and can lead to kidney failure.

"The population will continue to age, but improvements in diet and avoiding obesity could halve the number of people developing kidney failure and inadvertently reduce the need for kidney transplants."

He added: "Fifteen to 20 per cent of people who are obese will end up with kidney failure." Nearly 108,000 people were treated in hospital for kidney failure in England and Wales in 2006-07, more than double the number eight years ago.

Gurach Randhawa, professor of public health at Bedfordshire University and a task force member, believes disease prevention is vital to address the disproportionate donor shortage in black and ethnic minority groups. "In the short term we need to increase the number of donors from these groups," said Professor Randhawa. "But in the long term we have to address the fact they are six times more likely to become diabetic and then 10 times more likely to develop complications. We have to address long-term lifestyle and diet issues with individuals but also ensure they have equal access to services."

The number of people treated in hospital for liver diseases in England in 2006-07 increased by nearly 80 per cent over eight years to reach a record high of 45,557. Experts warn of a liver disease time bomb as rates of obesity, excessive drinking and hepatitis C continue to soar. "The striking increases we are seeing in chronic liver disease, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty disease, which is caused by obesity, will increase the need for liver transplants. The rise in alcohol-related damage seems set to continue as we have not found a way to reduce the nation's drinking habit,'' Dr Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said. The numbers of people treated for alcoholic liver disease has doubled to more than 26,000 since 1998.

The third high-risk group is people with hepatitis C: one in five will need transplants. "We know of 65,000 hepatitis C cases but between 80 to 90 per cent of infected people are undiagnosed. Hepatitis C and alcohol are both likely to burden the transplant services further," Dr Gilmore said.

Carol Beckett, 37, from Manchester has a rare form of cancer and will die unless she receives a liver transplant soon. But with the competition for organs high, the average wait at her transplant centre is six to 12 months. She refuses to criticise people whose diet or alcohol use may have contributed to organ failure.

She said: "We don't all live healthy lifestyles, but we all pay our taxes and should have access to the same treatment. I am not going to pass moral judgement on people but everyone should be aware this is a life-or-death situation."

A series of surveys has revealed that while nine out of 10 people say they are willing to donate their organs, only 20 per cent are registered. Furthermore, four out of 10 families of potential donors - people diagnosed brain dead - who are asked to donate the organs refuse. Their refusal, which can be at odds with the donor's personal wishes, is seldom overruled.

It was thought this was because relatives are unaware of the dead person's wishes but new research contradicts this. "Our research has totally overturned this as we found donations did not happen despite the views of the deceased. When it comes down to it, many people cannot go through with it, often because they do not want to disfigure or violate the body," said Magi Sque, senior lecturer at Southampton University.

"There has been too much emphasis on the plight of people waiting for organs, and not enough promotion of donation as an incredible achievement for the deceased, a way of leaving a legacy."