Inside Steve Jobs' liver transplant
On Friday the Wall Street Journal reported, without indicating its source, that Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs underwent a liver transplant operation in Tennessee about two months ago.
This would seem to confirm a report in mid-January that Jobs — who had a tumor removed from his pancreas in 2004 and took a medical leave earlier in January to deal with continuing health issues — was considering such an operation, as well as rumors in mid-April that he was having the surgery in Memphis.
Two hospitals in Memphis are designated liver transplant centers: Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center and Methodist University Hospital. Le Bonheur does not perform liver transplants on adults. A spokesperson for Methodist told the Journal that Jobs was not listed as a patient there, which leaves open the possibility that he was registered under another name.
About 6,000 liver transplant operations are performed in the United States each year at more than 100 hospitals, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network, but the waiting list for donors is considerably shorter in Tennessee than it is in most states.
The operation usually takes five or six hours. The surgeon makes a large incision in the upper abdomen and removes the damaged liver by cutting all the attached ligaments and severing several vital ducts and vessels, including the common bile duct, the hepatic artery, the hepatic vein and the portal vein that carries blood to the liver from the spleen, stomach, pancreas and intestines.
Blood from the liver is replaced by an ice-cold solution until the organ can be replaced.
The new liver — usually rushed from a recently deceased donor in the kind of race against time regularly featured in TV medical dramas — is then placed in the empty cavity and attached to those vessels and ducts. [A growing percentage of hepatic transplantation procedures, as several readers have pointed out, are partial liver transplants from living donors.]
Recovery can take many weeks and the survival rate is good. 80% to 85% of patients live for at least a year; about 75% live for five years or more. (Recent studies report that the five-year survival rate at experienced transplant centers is over 90%.) To prevent rejection, most patients take immunosuppressive drugs for the rest of their lives.
Liver transplants are well-accepted treatments for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure. The situation with Steve Jobs, who is recovering from a rare form of pancreatic cancer — called islet cell neuroendocrine tumor — may be a different story, as a key passage in the Journal piece suggests:
William Hawkins, a doctor specializing in pancreatic and gastrointestinal surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., said that the type of slow-growing pancreatic tumor Mr. Jobs had will commonly metastasize in another organ during a patient's lifetime, and that the organ is usually the liver. "All total, 75% of patients are going to have the disease spread over the course of their life," said Dr. Hawkins, who has not treated Mr. Jobs.
Getting a liver transplant to treat a metastasized neuroendocrine tumor is controversial because livers are scarce and the surgery's efficacy as a cure hasn't been proved, Dr. Hawkins added. He said that patients whose tumors have metastasized can live for as many as 10 years without any treatment so it is hard to determine how successful a transplant has been in curing the disease. (link)
If Jobs' cancer did spread to his liver, the fact that he had this procedure suggests that it may not have gone any further. Most hospitals will not perform a transplant on patients with metastatic cancer that has spread outside the liver.
Apple continues to say that it looks forward to Steve's return to Apple at the end of June, which is 10 days away. It has not yet returned a request for comment on this report.
Transplant image courtesy of Tulane Medical Center.
See also:
I have hep c and I would do anything not to! Everyone is motivated by their survival, period! Hang in there Steve!
My beloved twin sister was a patient at Georgetown University Hospital on the transplant list for a liver. A liver became available and unbelievably, even though she was a patient in their hospital, they called her at home 3 times within 5 hours and told her to come to Georgetown Univ Hospital for a liver transplant. She did not get the message because she lived alone and no one was at her home to take the call and tell them to go to her room on the 5th floor where she was a patient in their hospital. My beloved sister died 2 weeks later of liver and kidney failure after suffering cardiac arrest from all the fluid in her lungs. Yes, she also was listed as obese because she had gained over 50 pounds of fluid. I will never recuperate from this tragedy. To hold my twin in my arms as she took her last breath was worse than my husband's death. God have mercy on anyone that needs a transplant if they are at Georgetown University Hospital.
"Blood from the liver is replaced by an ice-cold solution until the organ can be replaced."
Are you RETARDED?
I think what you meant was during preservation of the donated organ, the blood is removed and replaced with an ice cold solution. No, we don't go around pumping ice cold solution into people's circulatory system.
Thanks for playing!
Do you just write whatever people tell you or do you occasionally use your brain? By the way, I'm not a doctor.
Rickey Lynn, I lost my husband 9/1/07 also and I would have given every penny I had. 2004 we found out he was going to need a liver. In june of 2007 the drs.was still refusing to put him on the transplant list eventho his MELD score was a 19. They never offered him dialysis to help his kidneys or nothing except a lot of pills that did nothing. I blame the drs. because if they don't put you on the list no one knows you exist. I don't know how bad Mr. Jobs was but he got those drs. to put him on the list somehow. In South Carolina my husband met every test they threw at him and they didn't put him on the list until 7/20/07. On 8/11/07 he got the call got his liver, came threw the operation out of CCU and on to the 6th floor where they hooked him up to a breathing machine and let him throw up in it sending everything in his stomach to his lungs and he ended up with sepsis and died. Everyone just says he wasn't one of the lucky ones. No thats not true if you don't get on the list in time you don't have a chance. People who have never been thru this with someone can't understand what they have to go thru, they may try but they can't. I don't blame Mr. Jobs for doing what he had to do to live everyone would do the same. They tell us we have to go on with our lives, I need to know how after my husband of 27 years is no longer with me. They tell us to do what we have to to get thru everyday. I tried to sue the drs. but no lawyer will touch them. So the way I have chosen to do it is, to put up a sign in my front yard recommending that everyone make sure you know what your drs. are saying about you in the report they make after your office visit. My husband had 100 lbs of fluid build-up that was coming out of his legs and they called him obese(fat) which wasn't true. My point is there are other factors that play into transplants along with money.
Wow! I live in isolation in the countryside in Spain with my Apple & iPhone. I have never met such an unbelievable, childish bunch of people. Who cares where a town is ? Who cares who got what ?
Why can't people be grateful for what they have instead of being envious of others?
Every one in the world is trying to live as long and as healthy as possible unless of course you are happy spending a fortune on smoking or drinking etc. If you love life and have made the money, for sure you need to use it to extend it.
I suggest the petty whingers get out there and get a life, start working (maybe with their "Apple" and find contentment with their own lives.
I wish Steve Jobs all the best and any one else who is having a hard time time with their health.
There are thousands of folks with many liver diseases from genetic diseases like: Wilson's, Haemochromatosis,Gilbert's syndrome,to autoimmune liver diseases like Primary sclerosing cholangitis which Walter Peyton died of and Primary biliary cirrhosis which I have. As well as the many others that are not as well known as Hepatitis, A,B,& C, alcoholic liver disease and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease which is on the rise in America. Many of these people eventually need liver transplants. When a celebrity gets a liver it is always a bitter sweet experience for those who are also waiting for a liver. On the one hand, there is the nagging concern that "if I was famous, would I get my transplant sooner or would I be guaranteed a liver", for many die waiting, and many wouldn't even be considered if they had cancer.
On the other hand there is the hope that the celebrity is so grateful to the donor that gave him life that they become a spokesperson for those behind him on the list, waiting for a transplant. The celebrity could bring attention to the desperate need for donors of liver and other organs. This type of gesture would go a long way for Steve Jobs. It shift the limelight to a more favourable place – from lying and stock holders money concerns to helping those who are deathly ill and who couldn't possibly have the same impact a Steve Jobs could have by speaking about his ordeal. Wouldn't it be wonderful if his next move is opening his heart, not protecting his pocket.
Hopefully yours,
K. Swift
Wishing Steve the absolute best. Also wondering why all the negativity, false scientific assumptions, and just plain hatefulness is abound in this forum.
Stupidity is also a disease…too bad some can't get on a donor list for a little kindness, basic scientific knowledge, and the protocol for receiving an organ.
UNOS maintains strict criteria for liver transplants (MELD score and compatibility) and the sickest compatible person is at the head of the list. It's not a function of wait time, and non-celebrities can them very quickly, too. Also, people rarely announce it to the media when they get listed.
However, they should have either kept quiet about his liver condition, or told the whole truth. By announcing he was in end stage liver disease, but not specifying why, I have to admit it gives the appearance that they're hiding something.
There's always a cause for ESLD.
Hum…My mother just received a liver transplant and she was not on the list for a month. She had probelms with her liver for over two years but the doctors finally decided she should go on the list. Not a week later after being added to the list she had to go to the emergency room and was admitted because her liver was failing. The next week she was put in the intensive care unit. They found a liver for her and she received it because she was at the top of the list to receive one based on her MELD score and the liver was a match. Does she have health insurance? yes and she received it at John Hopkins in Baltimore. But she received it within the month not because she was rich or famouse but because she was a match and the most sick. but then what would have happened if there was another person on the list with the same score and the same blood, etc but the other person had no insurance?? well, geez, was all know the answer don't we. If you had a business and knew one person would pay but the other probably never would who would you pick? especially for an operation that cost half a million dollars? I would pick the one that I knew would pay.
I worked at a company from 1999 to 2005, where we had very good health insurance coverage.
The founder died of colorectal cancer in 2001.
One of my co-worker's husband died of pancreatic cancer in 2002; it was diagnosed too late to save him.
Another co-worker, who had been laid-off in 2002, died of liver cancer in 2004. She was not a boozer. She was not covered by a health insurance program at the time, and it was diagnosed too late for any treatment. Her relatives did the best for her until she died. Two of her nieces worked at the company, that's how I found out. All of her relatives now have a worry that they are at hereditary risk of getting liver cancer too.
I don't know any more details, but what I found out about all three cancers was that after they advance to a certain stage they are death sentences.
And for those who complain about "preferential treatment" remember transplants are elective surgery. You won't get one if you are in the ER after a car accident, have lost a lot of blood, and they find out you have liver cancer. I figure one reason Steve Jobs took a long leave of absence was to reduce the risk that some idiot would run a red light and crash into his automobile, as that would substantially reduce his life expectancy.
Every transplant is an experiment, because replacing body parts with someone else's tissue is not like replacing auto parts. There is no warranty.
What a shame, with enough money you can jump the transplant line and get a new liver, while "common people" are left waiting, and dying. Shame on Apple, promoting greed, squashing innovation and now this!
I am a physician and I don't buy this. I also can't understand why someone with pancreatic cancer, which has such a poor prognosis, would receive a liver transplant in the first place. Does wealth and celebrity put you at the top of the transplant list now? Because something about this seriously stinks too me.
In response to John Dobson inCupertino who said: "I know Apple can be a difficult company towards customer service."
You don't know what you're talking about ~ both my husband and myself worked for Apple and their TOP priority is their customers, and they put their money where their mouth is. It is (by FAR) one of the best companies I have ever worked for… one of the (very) few who still cares about their customers and employees more than the almighty dollar.
Best of luck to Steve. That's a horrific ordeal to have to go through and I hope it enables him to live for many, many more years with his family an loved ones.
My good friend had a live liver transplant 2 months ago also.
I suspect like her, Jobs had cirrhosis from hepatitis C. It is the number one reason for liver transplants in the U.S. and Europe.
It's highly unlikely a doctor would do a transplant on anyone who has already had cancer which has spread.( Although his money could change that.) It also could explain the true cause of his illness.
Mr. Philip Elmer-DeWitt, are you not posting my comment because i accused you of sensationalized editorialism when i countered your comment that there is no rush to transplant the liver. Don't limit free speech.
Dr. B
ex ped: I posted your original comment promptly, Dr. Bradeau. Scroll down a bit further, you'll see it.
My spouse died of end stage liver disease 2 years ago. If I had known you could buy a liver in TN, I'd have sold everything I own to still have them with me. Instead I got to watch them whither away in a hospital bed for lack of a transplant.
Tif – thanks for the compliment – the docs at Methodist in Memphis are top notch – I'm sure Vandy is good, too, but we are pretty proud of our results here as well! Thanks again.
Joan – Vanderbilt is in Nashville – hard to believe you live in TN and don't know that. And NO, UT knoxville does not do livers, nor does Erlanger. Methodist or Vandy only – take it from me, a transplant nurse – it's what I do for a living…..
If Jobs had a transplant in Memphis, he would have made an excellent selection of doctors. The transplant program is one of the top ones in the nation. Contrary to a previous comment, the doctors here DO know what they're doing, and they do it well. They did a kidney transplant on my family member, who lived many more years, enabling her to see the birth of her only grandchildren. Good luck, Mr. Jobs, wherever you are.
It really is unfortunate that so many people are unable to receive the medical treatment that they desperately need due to cost. But Steve obviously has the means to afford it. Why wouldn't hey pay for the treatment? If any of the people commenting here were in a similar situation, would you forgo treatment simply because others cannot afford it? Is that what Steve "should" do, just sit there and hold on to his money and not get treatment?
I do see the point about Steve cutting the waiting line for a donor liver, but I don't see how a successful person paying for the treatment they need is wrong. We would all do it. He would be stupid not to. Everyone pays for some level of treatment for their health problems; he just happens to be able to afford more than many of us. What is wrong with that? Is there anyone on this thread who would not pay for treatment, when they have significantly more means than the treatment costs?
Perhaps Steve could just choose to die, and then instead of spending money on treatment he could spend it on traveling around the world for his last year. How would either choice impact those who cannot afford health care?
Umm … I'm not sure where Jobs had his transplant, but I'm 100% sure that Vanderbilt Hospital is in Nashville. The noted hospital in Chattanooga is Erlanger.
To that person who said “Someone probably heroically offered their liver to him”, you forgot that everyone is selfish and everyone is afraid of death.
Do you want to be that one to heroically offer your liver to other people?
Yes. If it can make a difference, let's do it.
Believe it or not, some of us are just trying to make a positive difference in this world we share.
I'm just a common middle-class guy. If by my actions I can help someone who will then help the world, that's a fair sacrifice in my mind.
M.
He brought excitement to new technology that changed the world. I owe my living to him and the fact I can feed my family and give them a good life.
I've never met him but read can be a nasty guy to get the job done. I don't know about that although I know Apple can be a difficult company towards customer service.
I know I love Steve Jobs for what he's given the world, I really enjoy his webcasts and marketing and I pray for his health.
Interesting. The people who have actually been involved in the transplant process are speaking from experience when they say that there is no favoritism (caveat below). The rest are making random accusations based on no facts. If you haven't been there, go learn something before opening your big trap.
Caveat: Your loved one may not have gotten a liver with the "same condition" for a number of reasons, including stage of the disease, age, other health factors, ability of the hospital, suitability of donor organ, etc.
My mother got a liver transplant in 1991 due to Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC), which is an autoimmune disease and has nothing to do with alcohol ("cirrhosis" basically means liver damage, not the cause of the damage). She got hers on her 55th birthday. There were 2 patients in that hospital that the liver could have gone to. She took a turn for the worst, the other guy took a turn for the better, so she got it. Yes, your condition at the time a liver becomes available is critical. If you're still able to live outside the hospital, you probably aren't sick enough to be at the top of the list yet. To the guy whose cousin has been waiting on machines for 2 months, he must be at the top, or there are complications such as rare blood type.
My mother lived for 16 years. She was a teacher (math/chemistry) who guided many more young people into college and careers that will help this country move forward. She also got to see three more of her five children married and got to know all seven of her grandchildren. She died a year and a half ago from complications of the Hep C that came in with either the new liver or one of the blood transfusions.
Please, people, if you don't have a donor card, get one. The more livers there are available, the more likely the waiting patients will get one. You won't need it any more.
TO Steve from Nashville:
In case you did not realize it your last statment was wrong. Vanderbilt is not in Nashville, it is in Chatanooga (sp) spelling may be wrong but comment right.
We live in Tn and Jobs went to Univ. of Tn Hospital in Knoxville.Getting a liver transplant is risky for anyone iven the possible time frame for continued living. My husband has an incurrable disease but may possible live longer without it. Amyloidosis Familial Polyneuropathy. According to recent article this hospital had fewer people on the list. Hurray for Jobs, I wish I knew who the doctor was as I would consider this for my husband because by the time he is up on the list it will probably be too late as he would need both heart and liver transplant. Unfortunately a misdiagnosis extended his age so that is a negative.
J
Most of you people are just mean, just wish him well, not because he is Steve Jobs but because he is a human, please have some respect…;)
My best wishes Mr.Jobs
Hey Matt, Thorpe, CL, and others
My condolences for your families who have had to enduring battles with cancer.
A couple of things.
1. Neuroendocrine tumors occurring in the pancreas are NOT the same as the more common adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. The prognosis also varies depending on the type of NE tumor (i.e. insulinoma, glucagonmoa, etc).
2. Everything in this news article is speculation / rumor, so take it with a mighty grain of salt.
My dad died from pancreatic cancer and a new liver isn't going to stop the most deadly and aggressive cancer from staying at bay. I highly doubt Jobs would of have gotten a liver transplant in Memphis. Maybe at Vanderbilt Hospital where the doctors actually know what they are doing in Nashville. They also do liver transplants.
To those who think it is alcohol, please research "neo endocrine cancers". They are their own breed. Because they are in the endocrine system, they can pop up anywhere and it has nothing to do with external circumstances. Popping up in the abdomen is as random as popping up in the lung. My Mother has this illness and I've spent years gathering info. The average patient lifespan is usually 10 years.
Gee I guess he hasn't realized that in the end, WE ALL WILL DIE! There is nothing you can do to stop it! Just tell that to the 1000's waiting for a transplant. And stop with the ethical mumbo jumbo about transplant protocols-they all went out of the window when he threw his money down in Tennessee. If it was a family member who donated a partial lobe, then SHAME on them for pushing the ethics of the a donation of a liver transplant. It has been done, then it has been done off of the tx protocols. And I have been there with a relative. So don't be pulling this he deserves it. WE ALL DIE IN THE END. WHAT IS HE SO AFRAID OF- Facing his maker? Having to answer for that stupid stock "error"? Oh please. I have a friend who's son's father died 5 years ago to metastatic colon cancer. Give us a break. There will be a nice donation made somewhere! And yes HIPPA does come into play- so why sign in under a false name if the privacy act is being administered in YOUR FACILITY? OH- in Cali your Governator had to create a new law to over lap it since a federal bill wasn't enough to keep the media out! Oh you people are disgusting. I know so many people who have lost their battle while waiting for organs it is disgusting. HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE SIGNED YOUR DONOR CARDS? STOP YOUR WHINE!
Alcohol is one of at least fifteen different causes for compromised liver function. Some of them are hereditary, while something as seemingly harmless as too much Tylenol can cause enormous damage.
Jobs could have been exposed to Hepatitis B or C through no fault of his own. Many prescription medications require regular liver function tests.
Alcohol caused liver failure ranks behind over use of acetameinophen, hepatitis, disease, obesity and trauma.
I feel really bad for anyone who has a major illness such as this. When a tragedy happens to someone it usually has a very humbling effect. Especially if it happens to a high profile person. This may possible lead to positive changes within Apple.
firstly, steve doesn't drink more than a glass of wine – he's a borderline vegan. Secondly, most people who do have benefits can get a liver transplant, no one knows how long he was on the list.
And yes, I do know him personally and I've been to his home.
A liver transplant to combat pancreatic cancer? The first year survivor rate is about 75% but 5 years is actually closer to 20%. Most health plans and insurance would deny the transplant to people of modest means for that reason alone. It is only Jobs' wealth that enabled this for him. Since he cheated his friend Wozniak and took the company others created with actual talent, it is only fitting Steve continues his penchant for taking ill-gotten gains. I wonder who died waiting for the liver he received?
Iam SICK about this…NOT that hes alive, thank goodness for his life…BUT Iam a nurse who deals with organ transplant in OC, Ca…and more often than NOT I see this BULLS***…money TALKS…and it should NOT b that way….
My best friend and a tenured professor in physics that designed the sonar for US submarines died waiting for a liver. And Jobs that just pays people….gets one. Nice. I will never buy an Apple product again (like I did anyway…they don't do Math).
@John
Did you read the article? He had liver trouble from the cancer that spread there from his pancreas…
—-
I've know people who have gotten this operation done in the past. While they may live for several years, often their mental capacity can be affected. The liver basically keeps your body from poisoning itself. If a liver is struggling, even a little, unregulated chemicals in your blood can affect your awareness and mental state. I'm curious to see how Steve Jobs will perform at work when he returns.
The Rich? In this case, the BRILLIANT.
and what did YOU bring to the world to be deserving of a new liver?
Mike…Don'y worry…your boy Obama will fix that.
btw..you don't normally go to the Dr for the flu…that's just wasteful…the government will make sure nothing gets wasted though be limiting what you can see the Dr for 
Wonder what will happen to private health care if corporations can dump their health care benefits and let the employees shift to a state-run health plan..
This comment is NOT in reference to Steve Jobs, but rather those posted here which glibly suggest that anyone famous or wealthy would get preferred treatment for transplants. First, those comments are based largely on supposition rather than known or proven facts. There is every reason to believe that the selection process is rigorous, careful and based primarily on scientific criteria, rather than the name or wealth of the person in need. If there were a way to "jump the list", it is likely that chaos would ensue and scandal, widely reported, would result.
It should be noted, however, that medical care has been given preferentially many, many times to those of wealth. Most people have heard of the "billfold autopsy", whereby emergency room employees go through the wallet of an injured person to determine whether they receive immediate treatment or are shipped to another facility. Likewise, there are proven cases, in decades past, where care was withheld from some patients, usually those that appear to be nearly terminally ill, on the basis that their life prospects were not that good should they get well. These cases are not drawn from speculation, but rather detailed, investigative reports on America's hospitals.
The fact is, when someone becomes ill or injured in America, it represents a profit opportunity for hospitals, clinics and doctors. It is no wonder that some people, however ill informed, hold deep suspicions about how health care might be rationed. We have a medical system in crisis, virtually from top to bottom. It goes far beyond the issue of providing universal medical insurance to the quality of treatment for anyone in need.
No matter how rigorous, it seems possible that there might be some discretion in regard to critically needed patients and that, somewhere, someone could be inclined to bend the rules, choosing patient A over B, just as Ivy League colleges bend the rules to accept students of notable parents or students whose parents also attended that school (legacy students). In the case of transplants, no one should conclude automatically, however, that this is the case. We have well established laws and procedures and sometimes they really do protect us. Not even the president of the United States can just do anything he pleases. In the end, he's just another Federal employee, subject to all the rules.
Although I am a big fan of Apple, I agree, the rich don't have to wait on a list for a new liver. My step mother has been on the list for 5 years. Her insurance cost around $750 a month. I wonder how long Mr. Jobs was on a list?
The rich get a whole new liver at the snap of a finger.
Meanwhile, the rest of us can't afford to go to the doctor when we get the flu.
Most of you people are just MEAN! Steve Jobs, I send you good wishes and hope for the best for you. Thank you for the enormous contributions you have made to our world.
Could excessive alcohol have played a role? Alcohol, I believe, is the largest cause of liver failure.
John
I wonder if it cost three times as much, isn't repairable, has a 2 yr life expectancy, and has to pay more if he wants it to do something?
Give this guy a break. How pathetic is it that you have to reveal every detail of his medical drama like its some form of entertainment.
Scott is correct. My wife had a liver transplant in 2006.
It is true that patients with cancer move up the list faster, because if the tumors exceed a certain size or number, then a transplant cannot be performed.
Criteria for transplant are complex and detailed. They are not determined by financial considerations.
If Steve's finances gave him any advantage at all, it was the ability to move to a state where the waiting list is shorter.
Dr. B.
I do not know where you get your information, but a Liver is of no use if it is outside of a body for 24 hours. A Liver is only useful if it is transplanted within at most 12 hours. From someone such as myself who has been in the field of organ and tissue tranplantation for six years would know that. Makes me wonder if you really are a doctor. Secondly, money and fame do not play any role in anyone being bumped to the top of a transplant waiting list. Everyone keeps throwing Mickey Mantle out there stating that fame and fortune bumped him to the top of the list. If that were the case, then why did Walter Payton die waiting on the liver transplant list. Seems to me that if those who are famous and wealthy were bumped to the top of the list, then Walter would have had a liver transplant. I think that before people write a bunch of crap that they should get their facts straight. Good luck Steve and heal fast!
Additional comment to my last…. the recipient of my gift contracted Hep C from tainted blood product received during treatment for leukaemia. After surviving a bone marrow transplant (that he barely managed to get having been given 1:1,000,000 odds) and recovering, Hepatitis set in and it was a death sentence all over again. Three medical opinins said he would reject my liver based on his blood group changing as a result of the bone marrow transplant. Three other medical opinions disagreed. In the end, we took that chance, and 6 1/2 years later he's as full of life as a man can be. Twice he stood in front of the gates of hell and twice he provide the professionals wrong. You can't rely on the odds, and you can't walk with fear. Some of the opinions expressed are baseless. You really should know of what you're speaking before forming an opinion.
I am a living liver donor, and well aware of the critera for being included on a very lengthy wait-list of your CORRECT type . Without the decision I made, the recipient of my donation would surely have died. I cannot imagine how just one "loved one" of someone in such dire need could NOT find the courage within themselves to make the decision to save a life, rather than grieve a death. Rather than debating the priorities involved in recipient selection, should we not looking inside ourselves to see what we're really made of?
WOW! Lots of ignorance and class-warfare bitterness here. Some things to ponder:
Liver transplants can't be on a first come first serve basis because there are several criteria for matching, not the least of which is blood type. For instance, a type AB recipient can ONLY get a liver from an AB donor. Another issue is human leukocyte antigens (which would take far too long to explain here).
As someone who works in healthcare I can assure you that the level of cynicism expressed in these posts is unwarranted. I personally know a number of transplant surgeons and I can assure you they are all highly motivated to help as many patients as possible without regard for their socio-economic status.
This is becoming pretty entertaining. Rumors spread, are embellished by reporters confabulating multiple rumors, rebroadcast, are embellished further by press quotes of doctors unfamiliar with the case but willing to suggest diagnosis and treatment to reporters, who then concatenate the previous stories, embellishments, and less-than-ethical diagnosis into fresh stories, for further embellishment.
It's sort of an echo chamber of reporters, with positive feedback.
I'm waiting to hear about Steve's dallying with alien vampires to produce a love child to act as liver donor.
Whats the big deal here? Larry Hagman pickled his liver sipping champagne daily in his dressing room and received a liver transplant why shouldnt Steve? After all they both could afford it, right? Granted Larry quit drinking, lets hope Steve's cancer doesn't eat away his new lease on life. Btw – Steve didn't give anything extraordinary to the world in my opinion it was Xerox who invented the technology and the(x2)Steve's who capitalized on it! For those who feel otherwise, perhaps now Steve can focus less on createing gadgets to appease wallstreet investors and more on helping those less fortunate to be able to afford an organ?
Steve Jobs is a great American whether you like him or not. But more than that he is a human being with a heart, soul, and family and wants to live just like the rest of us. Leave him alone and pray for his recovery. His ideas have revolutionized America in ways you can't imagine, so I'm thrilled that there is a good possibility he will be around for many more years. It's innovators like him that make this country great and I wish Steve and his family all the best!
I think Steve deserves a liver, money or not.
Heck, I think everyone that needs a liver deserves one…It's just there are so damned few of them
The bioethical choices here are very very complex…. But I would say, if I was on the transplant committee, I would vote for Steve over an unknown person just because to me he has a proven ability to positively impact the world, and on his life depend innumerable others.
It would not be a decision I would make lightly, and it would be likely a decision that would haunt me, but it would be the one I would make
To that person who said "Someone probably heroically offered their liver to him", you forgot that everyone is selfish and everyone is afraid of death.
Do you want to be that one to heroically offer your liver to other people?
Steve Jobs changed computers for forever…
Most of you probably don't remember DOS software…. green type on a black background and you had to type in code. horrible. Apple changed the computer interface creating folders etc. — PC Windows stole their concept from Apple. The iPhone has changed the way people use phones. It's beyond brilliant!
Steve Jobs you are a legend!
be well.
I believe that Jobs got preferential treatment. Why? My mother had the same type of cancer that had spread to her liver. She had surgery at the Cleveland Clinic to remove part of pancreas, but when they saw that it had spread to her liver, they (and other specialists) told us that a liver transplant would do no good, as the cancer would return and attack the new liver. The cancer took her life a few years later.
You can have all the money in the world, but if you don't have your health, you have nothing.
Nobody should begrudge Steve that he got a liver transplant. None of us know how long he was on a waiting list.
It can't be easy going through something like this with the world watching and investors betting on whether he'll return, and if so, when and for how long.
I wish him a speedy recovery.
I don't like Apple's products or how controlling they are, but I do wish Steve well. Being sick sucks. I hope he gets well soon.
I really hope this isn't another case of a wealthy person going to the head of the line.
My brother had the same cancer and he was told a transplant would not be the right thing to do (there were 3 opinions).
Jobs is an incredibly self-centered jerk. Even those who like him will agree to this. Going to a state where the waiting list is smaller due to poverty is suspect but I'll wait until more info is brought to light before an opinion.
Any human being deserves the right to live. I have had 25% of my liver removed and you mean that the liver can regenerate. It is disdainful to me to think that a man doesn't deserve life becomes he has money; when we live in a country where "the paper" is king!
Now, I might agree with you on Bill Gates. who stole Jobs' idea of windows when in college … but most revere him … shame on all of you.
Hey Bill from Round Rock, I know things have been tough for Dell over the last 7 years, but hopefully they will add some more shifts to your schedule real soon. I mean I know your employee share @ 15 look pretty skimpy from 6/17/2002's close of 25.99 and the highs in the low 40s, but I'm sure the race to the bottom for PC commoditization will send their shareprice skyrocketing any day now.
Actually perhaps if Dell had customers as fanatical about their products as people are about Apple's, their shares might not be hovering in the mid teens right now. Might be worth considering while you're picking up extra hours greeting people @ the Round Rock Wal-mart super center.
I don't think he deserves a liver because of this wealth or fame. I think he deserves a liver because he changed the world. Someone probably heroically offered their liver to
him. You don't necessarily die by donating your liver.
By the way, the liver is the only organ in the body that can reproduce entirely if it's cut by 50%. So, how many people do you think might have volunteered a major part of their liver to Steve? I think many people would have, being that they love and respect him.
My cousin has been on the waiting list for almost a year for a liver transplant…guess he just doesn't have enough money. He's been in the hospital, hooked up to machines for the past two months.
Steve Jobs is fighting for his life. Why can't people just leave him alone? Who cares what his political affiliation is. He's made major contributions to the world. If he beats this he will continue to make the world a better place.
I wish you peace.
Um excuse me- to all the naysayers- if you don't have a relative who has had this disease, then shut up. My Mother in law had the same cancer and rather than having a transplant, they thought they could remove the right lobe of her liver to get the tumor & she would be fine. She wasn't. She should have had a transplant and her doc had a liver ready for her to receive but sadly she didn't live long enough to get it. (this all happened in a period of two weeks) The disease is not your normal "cancer". It's slow growing, thus making patients viable tissue recipients. How dare you say he got a liver because of his wealth when you clearly know nothing about the disease. Contrary to popular belief, it's not that hard to come by a liver and if you're sick enough, yes, you will get one faster. Wait until tragedy strikes someone in your family. Rich or poor, you will want your doctors to go to any lengths to save your loved one too. Everyone deserves quality medical treatment and just because someone is wealthy, doesn't mean they deserve second class treatment. Your comments are narrow minded and ridiculous.
New liver? Riiiight! This was supposed to be just a little break from work to rest because he was tired, as announced back in March or April. What a huge lie. Can't believe anyone in business or media.
It always amazes me when people that are envious and bitter take stories about someone rich and famous and decide that it makes their own lives even worse. They enjoy stating assumptions that make the person sound criminal.
I feel personal health issues should be off limits to the public unless they decide otherwise.
Hey Bill from Round Rock….Besides the fact that your comment is about as asinine as it gets, it sounds as if you're one jealous guy. Ever believe in "karma"? Well, yours is coming dude…..
They gave a guy who just got over Cancer a liver? Not your normal liver candidate. I hope it does pay off and I also hope that there was no otherwise deserving healthier liver candidate that did not get it because a richer man needed it.
wow, some interesting comments here. Why so much negative speculation? Jobs, appropriately, has been as private as a major public figure could be in this process. The poor guy is sick, this has nothing to do with fame and his treatment and health issues are his private business.
As a doctor, i work hard and have liability to ensure patient privacy. The HIPA rules help ensure this. jobs is allowed too.
don't judge the guy without all the story and allow him privacy like you would want, so don't judge the guy.
Also why all the negativity towards Apple and their products? They aren't evil, thay are well made slick and capture the imagination of those that like them. Apple has a good way of giving the snap we like. If you don't like it, don't buy it, there is nothing wrong or right about what they make, it is just another product out there that some people like.
Once Steve Jobs recovers, I hope he uses this opportunity to become a spokesperson for organ donation. As the spouse of a very fortunate heart-lung recipient and now an organ-donor spokesperson, this is a major health care issue near and dear to my heart and the hearts of many people we know. Hopefully, Jobs can use his celebrity status to inspire people to become organ donors and to bring the level attention to this issue that is showered on non-fatal conditions like autism, etc. In the end, it's not about how or why he received this transplant. It's what he does with this gift.
"I would give my liver to Steve Jobs if he asked me to.
He can do more for our society than I can, I would be willing to take the risk of donating my liver.
That said, leave him alone now, stop manipulating Apple’s stock."
The risk would be certain death. You only have one liver, and without it, you would die instantly. And for those of you on this board who are wish ill will on Jobs, it is truly tactless. You should know that a liver transplant is a life threatening operation with a lifetime of immune suppressing medications. I would not wish it on my worst enemy . . . Show some class.
An interesting and unique take on this news here:
http://sanjeevsaikiaart.blogspot.com/2009/06/apple-ceo-steve-jobs-has-liver.html
"The new liver — usually rushed from a recently deceased donor in the kind of race against time regularly featured in TV medical dramas"
…that sensationalized editorialism Mr. Philip Elmer-DeWitt! The liver happens to be a transplanted organ that can wait up to 24-48hrs on ice before being used. When I was in medical school we stopped for a leisurely lunch all the while a donated liver sat in a box of ice in the back of a suburban.
Do believe everything you read on Google!
Dr. B
Anybody ever hear of Mickey Mantle?
Money and fame will ensure the best medical care in the world.
Ask Paul Allen…
To those that think money can buy health, it can't. The example I use is Paul McCartney, the Beatle. His wealth is close to that of Steve Jobs, yet even with all that money Paul could not save his beloved wife Linda. In a strange way this was a comforting factor to me as my wife battled and lost her fight with cancer. Those who have, or support, a person with cancer often think, 'if I only had more money I could cure my (spouse, friend, parent)'. Cancer doesn't care if you have money or not.
My thoughts and prayers are with Steve and his family. I am a loyal Apple fanboy, but we need to give Steve a chance to have the best quality of life. So to those who use information about his health for personnel gain, stop!
All you MAC fans worried about loosing your messiah? Steve Jobs is responsible (along with Apple) in creating a huge junk pile of over rated cell phones, and over priced computers. It's sad that so many people think that a gadget like the iPhone has such importance in todays society. All you little minds out there are part of the reason that this country is fast becoming a third world nation,
I waited 9 days for a new liver back in 1989. I'm not rich or famous. People really are transplanted according to their medical status.
There are way too many assumptions being made here. I had a very good friend on an organ transplate list. It may be one of the only systems in the country that HASN'T been corrupted by money. She never made it to the top, but is still alive because a family member ended up agreeing to donate part of his own liver. There was a recent story in this area about a small company president whose entire workforce asked to be tested for compatibility and one of her own employees donated part of a liver. Let's not assume his money got him that liver–whether by being bumped or by buying one. He's been sick a long, long time; this clearly wasn't a quick fix because he bought his way to the top. I have actually developed a lot of respect for Jobs. He has fought the hard fight with dignity and privacy. The hatred here is shameful.
It's no wonder the fat cat republicans hate the idea of "socialized medicine". Their free pass to the front of the line would cease no matter how wealthy they are. The insurance industry lobby sure hates "socialized medicine" to. I guess they don't make enough selling life, auto, homeowners, and many other types of insurance.
My late mother was a kidney transplant patient. I know the transplant system very, very well. And I can honestly and factually tell you all that money and fame can not in any way help you get a transplant faster than a poor person. It's simply not true. Where do you idiots get your facts from? Sounds like you just make it up. Steve got his liver on a waiting list like everyone else, no preferential treatment, period. Steve is a fighter, he didn't get to where he is by being weak. You keep rockin', Steve!
This comment is for anyone who needs any kind of transplant and cannot afford it in the US because of the hight prices. Try other countries such as France, they are very good with this kind of stuff and do it daily. It may cost 50-70% less than if you were to do the procedure in the US. Jeff Eugene, try the hospital in Paris called La Pitie Salpetriere, they are very good.
I would give my liver to Steve Jobs if he asked me to.
He can do more for our society than I can, I would be willing to take the risk of donating my liver.
That said, leave him alone now, stop manipulating Apple's stock.
Julie,
"He certainly should go to the front of the line. That is the way nature would have wanted it."
If we were to go by what 'nature' would have wanted, then we would be letting him die of cancer i.e. allowing nature to weed out the less fit among us.
We are instead intervening on his behalf and saving his life even though he still doesn't allow Flash and other common web technologies to run on the iPhone and iTouch.
"Sign up to be an organ donor if you haven’t…"
Would like to but can't for being attracted to the same-sex.
Well,I'm glad Mr Jobs got his liver. He still has a lot to conrtibute to society – maybe even an advanced cancer imaging system. I am not rich, I do understand how it must feel for someone to read about his condition while they languish with no help. But I am also practical. People in the US have too much to be thankful for. So let's not wallow in self-sympathy and make the most of opportunities and resources that we do have.
The fact is that he has metastatic cancer. Hospitals and insurance companies do not want to waste resources on dying individuals. I have metastatic colon cancer that has spread to my lungs. Do you think I could get a lung transplant even though there is no cancer anywhere else. The answer is no. I am going to die from this disease because I am not wealthy and cannot affort to buy hospital care like mr Jobs can. I think that's it great that he can mind you, but I guess if you are rich then you are priviledged in this country. The poor and underpriveleged will conitinue to die and the rich will prosper. Just human nature? No just the way this unjust world works. Money talks, and everything and everyone else can die. As long as the rich get richer, who cares? Wars are based on money, lives are lost and mainly it is the poorest that give or lose their lives. What an insane world we live in.
He is rich, he is famous but he is still human. Why can't media leave him alone? Do you really need a page visit and monetize with ads with this man's traumatic story?
After I lost my dad 2 years ago, I look at life with a different perspective – Treat others as humans – be good, do good. If you can't do good, simply back-off. If you moderate this comment, let your conscious bother you that you are not human.
Now that he is saved and able to continue to produce magnificent technology for the world to enjoy, perhaps he can make an app where you get the part you need, when you need it.
What a disgrace. Now the wealthy can get organ transplants before less wealthy people who got in line earlier. Some kind of cosmic justice involving an out-of-control bus and Jobs going driving home from the hospital is in order.
Ben, it's clearly stated in the article that Tennessee has a notoriously short waiting list for livers to be transplanted.
8th paragraph 2nd line typo "about 75% live for five year or more" should be yearS.
ex ped: Thanks for the catch. Fixed.
You people surprise me…Why can't you respect other people's privacy? Why can't you leave Steve Jobs alone? Each person is entitled to the right of keeping his/her health issues confidential. So please, give Mr Jobs his space. He tell the world about his health issues whenever he is ready.
A donor liver doesn't have to come from a deceased person. A portion of a liver can be taken from a living donor and transplanted. The livers will then grow to their normal sizes. Jobs has enough money that he could have bought part of someone's liver, then paid the hospital enough to do the procedure despite his cancer having spread beyond the liver. Either a lot of research was lacking in this article, or someone that wants to keep apple's stock price up wrote it.
Julie I cannot believe you would say something so heartless. While I am a huge fan of Steve Jobs just because someone is famous does not give them priority over everyone else. For example say a famous person got caught cold blooded murdering someone. Would you let him/her go just because he she is famous? It happens all the time but does not make it right.
Berndog…am right there with you. Had my liver transplant in 2003 in Seattle (check out the U.S.Transplant Games and the World Games…transplant athletes…track and field events and Team Northwest basketball team myself…phenomenal…we compete against former U.S. Olympic and World Olympic athletes who have had transplants.) I know for a fact wealthy/famous cannot get to the top of the list…the controls are tight. Scores are all based off of bloodwork results, etc. I praise God every day that technology as advanced that this is even possible. I have a young daughter whose life would have been devastated…she was 3 yrs old at the time, but am here today! When you are in that situation, you surely realize your own mortality, whether rich/poor, famous or not. Sign up to be an organ donor if you haven't….you could end up saving the life of a family member or close friend. You just never know! Thanks to all of those families that chose to donate in a time of sorrow! May God send you incredible blessings!!!
@Julie: how about a retired 80 year old grandfather who teaches his grandchildren morals, ethics, love and a lot of other good things? Would you pull the plug on him because he's not wealthy or famous?
Your comment is really disturbing, my dear.
This is a PRIVATE and PERSONAL matter. It is NOBODY'S business but Jobs and his family. Why are people reporting this story before it has even been confirmed by the man himself. Give him his privacy. This is sad, sad, sad!
I have to disagree with Mr. Gates. So I guess my computer will never work again after it sends this post.
Mr. Jobs does have a right to privacy and it is his choice to excercise it. But he also has a tremendous opportunity to let others know of his situation.
This can only help raise awareness of the desperate need for organ donation.
I received a liver transplant last November and continue to deal with the challenges of my recovery. (By the way, the author of this story needs to be careful about generalizations when it comes to recovery times and other aspects of transplatation as all cases are different.)
I have been open to all who know me and others who may not, hoping that my story and those of so many others can help remove the stigma that exists concerning organ donations and transplants.
Hopefully Mr. Jobs will do the same. The enormity of his platform can only help.
gee – memories of mickey mantle arise. here's the united states health care system in a nutshell. if you have money you can bump to the top of any list. i don't begrudge jobs doing what he can to extend life and the value of his stock but let's be frank – that's what this is about unless he is part of a clinical trial that will serve ALL of us EQUALLY. any of us would do the same.
Why is the waiting list for donors substantially shorter in Tennessee than in other states?
Would it be possible to have a nationwide donor waiting list? The article mentions that the donated livers are usually rushed from recently deceased donors in a race against time. Nonetheless, a donated liver could be anywhere in the United States within six hours of the donor's death. Would that be a short enough time to warrant creating a nationwide list?
A state-by-state donor waiting list is biased towards wealthy patients since they can jet anywhere on a moments notice and can hire private detectives to determine which states have donors about to die.
I'll bet that that is what Jobs did. I don't blame him but I think that the federal government should put some rules in place to level the playing field for patients of normal wealth.
As for giving a liver to a patient with cancer, I'd like to know the criteria for eligibility. I recall that Mickey Mantle died shortly after receiving a donated liver when his cancer spread. It wasn't exactly a scandal but a lot of people thought that that liver was wasted.
"Anyone who is wealthy or famous
should have first priority."
Because fame and wealth are linked to contributing to society how?
Ever heard of HIPAA? Just because a patient isn't listed in the directory of a hospital, doesn't mean he/she wasnt' there. Anyone can opt out of being included in a hospital directory and no information about that patient will be divulged to the media or anyone else.
Why do we need to know rumors about Mr. Jobs health. Can't the man deal with his health issues in private! Maybe the author of the story needs a new job working for one of the rumor mills that you can buy at the check-out line a grocery stores or Wal-Mart.
Let Mr. Jobs have some privacy… I would have thought financial magazines were above this kind of story?
Guess not..
The wait for an organ that can be used for transplant can go on for years unless your last name is Jobs, and your first name happens to be Steve.
People shouldn't rush to judgment and assume he got "to go to the front of the line" for being famous/wealthy or that he received a liver from a dead donor. Live donors for liver transplants are in fact possible. Thanks to modern medicine I may one day give a part of my liver to my mum. Stay well Mr. Jobs.
You sound like a wonderful excuse for a human being Julie. Maybe natural selection will hit a bit closer to home for you and change that silly attitude.
Godspell and best of health to Mr Jobs. As a liver transplant recipient of 20 years I certainly wish him well. However one must wonder why Mr. Job elected to have his transplant in Tenn as opposed to all the great liver transplant programs in his home state of CA.?
So you retired and now you make your money writing articles about apple? "Some people make headlines while others make history"
He certainly should go to the front of the line. That is the way nature would have wanted it. Anyone who is wealthy or famous should have first priority. More importantly, he still contributes to society. He isn't some old guy in his 80's that is no longer contributing that we are trying to keep alive trying. People aren't equal and anybody who tells you that doesn't understand science, nature, genetics.
Having recently had a liver transplant in Los Angeles, I am convenienced that there are no favorites in this game. I received mine in less than two weeks and I am just a regular type guy. Blessed by God, still, just a regular type guy.
There are thousands of people awaiting liver transplants in the US that are seriously ill and may, in fact, not survive the wait. Just wondering how long Steve had to wait or do some "get to go to the front of the line" because of money or being famous.
I've been meaning to get the Organ donor card for many years, today is the day I'm going to make it happen. To be able to save a life when yours has expired, its nothing short of a miracle, and you might just save a legend like Stevo.
I'm also going to leave other parts/the rest to science and research, so much good work is being done fight diseases and I'd be glad to be of some use.
HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION: All the American doctors refuse to do the surgery for the reason cited by PED. Jobs is forced to go to China where there are livers aplenty and they'll give them to anybody who has the cash. Jobs buys his Chinese liver, gets the surgery done, wakes up rolls over and realizes there's a tattoo on his back – STEVE JOBS- Designed by Apple in California. Reassembled in China.
I know everything that has to do with Apple is treated as BIG NEWS, but can't this poor man have a little privacy when it comes to his medical condition? Apple has proven for months that it is fully capable of operating on all cylinders with Jobs out of the picture, so let this man have his privacy.
I have Hep C and received a liver trabsplant July 2001 at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va. After a very rocky course and a 3 month long coma, kidney shut-down & dialysis & diabetes, I recovered and re-learned to sit up and walk, etc. My daughter who is 27 also has hep c, contracted from me when she was born and I did not know I had it yet. She is listed for transplant at Johns Hopkins, because Inova Fairfax no longer performs liver transplants. Today she began to show signs of possible internal hemorrhage (bright red blood in her stool) so the whole family is on pins & needles- could this be it??? Please remember Robbi and her family (husband & 2 girls ages 9 and 3) in your prayers. Thank You.