"Dr. Dorry Segev of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore says the risk of death while waiting for a transplant is far higher for many patients than the risk associated with organs from high-risk donors."

And there is an army of lawyers wringing their hands hoping that some will get HIV so they can sue the doctor for $millions.

Without tort reform, no doctor in their right mind will jeopardize their life and career, no matter how small the risk.

We are in desperate need of bringing our legal system under control. Long ago, it was realized that a worker's compensation system was needed to prevent lawyers from driving all companies out of business with their petty lawsuits. It's time to institute a similar system for malpractice claims so that doctors are not driven out of business, or health costs become unaffordable (actually, they already are).

I've seen estimates that malpractice lawsuits cost the economy as much as $2.5 Trillion over 10 years - many times the cost of health reform. Other countries have adequate compensation systems for medical malpractice without our exorbitant cost. Too bad one political party has such a strong tie to trial lawyers.