Comments on: Report: Steve Jobs had liver transplant

Apple's CEO, who has been on medical leave for the past six months, had a liver transplant two months ago in Tennessee, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

[cvaldes1831]

Get well soon, Steve. We miss you.

[bvdon]

Hope to have him around a long time. Get well, Mr. Jobs.

[Mr. Dee]

I agree, although I often disagree with your obnoxious user base (and there are many of them on CNET), I do hope you have a full recovery so I can continue bashing whatever new over expensive product you release in the future.

[savvydude]

I pray God's blessing on Mr. Jobs and his family. We look forward to his soon returning to Apple.

[LeeNipp]

instead of praying to god, hope that he has well trained medical professionals and a well developed aftercare / fallow up program. he will be a lot less likely to die.

[fooldog01]

Because "hoping" is somehow more effective than praying. Way to fail at being a jerk.

[free_fight49]

get well soon steve, and keep bringing out new products!

[Atlas_]

I was going to say something silly about macs, but I changed my mind before I hit submit.

Get well soon Mr. Jobs.

[Jackmiles2006]

We Miss you Steve.

[hankthedwarf]

Get well, Steve. We need the real tech pioneers like you around.

[EbsanU]

Best wishes buddy, I still hate Apple though.

[assman]

I hope this isn't a case of Steve Jobs using his riches to buy a place at the top of the transplant waiting list.

Anyway, this entire report is based on an UNCONFIRMED source, so it could potentially be entirely false.. though I doubt it.

Good to have you back Steve. Guess it was a bit more serious than a "hormone imbalance" eh?

[solitare_pax]

On the other hand, should the media be reporting on a person's private health after that person declined to comment on it?

Get well soon Mr. Jobs.

[assman]

Well.. he owns a public cooperation so some might consider him to be a public figure. His health affects the public's investment in the company's stock.

[pdskep]

For his condition, a liver transplant is of minimal usefulness. Essentially he took a liver from someone for whom it might actually have helped. Once selfish, always selfish.
[CNET editor's note: Offensive language deleted.]

[3tire]

Since you know so much about his medical condition, I would assume you are a doctor of his? And, you would describe everyone who has ever had a transplant with the same language pdskep?

[drhamad]

Certainly we don't know his medical condition, pdskep, but based on the likely fact of what happened... a liver transplant doesn't always help, but it CAN help very significantly.

[pdskep]

It was reported in Jan. he might be seeking a liver transplant because of his pancreatic cancer. Read up on the procedure for the type of cancer Jobs has. There's a high likelihood the cancer will reemerge in his new liver and will have already spread to other organs since it was not cured by the original surgery.

[pdskep]

@hamad. It may help. Maybe, but how much would it have help those who didn't get one? If there were an oversupply of donor organs the issue would be moot.

[mutualin4mation]

I'm going to guess that the WSJ can stand behind this story. They're not a bunch of bloggers.

[3tire]

pdskep, ah so calling him selfish is based on your having read a lot about cancer? Not on actual medical knowledge?
[CNET editor's note: Offensive language deleted.]

[assman]

@mutualin WSJ is the one that said the information was unconfirmed by either Apple or Steve Jobs.

[nicmart]

If it is true, Apple and Jobs have some explaining to due. Have they met their legal obligations to stockholders?

[Perry_Clease]

What are the legal obligations? Give us a link to the laws and regulations that apply in this case.

[Seaspray0]

Publicly traded companies do have some responsibility to report on the health of their key executives and a liver transplant isn't exactly a hormone imballance (which is what the company stated). I'm no expert on the laws, but they may not need to state the nature of medical conditions to meet that obligation.

[ewelch]

Considering Apple has said over and over that his health is a concern, but not time to panic, and that there are plenty of people in place to run the company, yes, they have met their legal obligation.

[make_or_break]

Considering that the severity of his health "concern" was not fully disclosed, there could be some SEC-related "issues" here. Moreover there appears to have been some misinformation (or at lest disinformation) in the initial disclosures; 'hormone imbalance' is a real stretch from the actual need of having to gut your own liver for a new one. Like it or not, there's money to be made on BAD news as well.

Plus, there's always some underlying reason for liver disease; noisy, Apple-bashing "PCs" (and nervous AAPL investors) do want to know.

[drhamad]

Yeah it's an interesting question. With what eventually came out as being his health problem (hormone imbalance/etc) I'd have said "who cares." But if his cancer became an issue again, and he needed to have a liver transplant... THAT is a real health concern of interest to investors.

[nixermac]

Not while on leave. The explanation is due only when actively employed or attending office. Steve was on leave and his medical conditions may have required a liver transplant. Even hormonal imbalance can cause issues with the liver.

Moreover all you folks need to read the HIPPA requirements. Steve is not required to declare his health conditions and we must not discuss it either. If Steve decided to make his health records public then we can dissect the information every bit.

Get well soon Steve.

[Random_Walk]

"Have they met their legal obligations to stockholders?"

Considering the massive growth and profits that Apple has been pulling into their bank account, in spite of a recession? I can say with certainty that they have.

And your next dumb question is...?

[b_baggins]

@Seaspray0,

It's called Key Man Insurance, and its designed to specifically meet concerns like yours.

[Voice_Of_Logic]

Well this is good news. It will be cool to see him around again.

[mikestatic1]

Welcome back, Steve. Best wishes for a long and happy life.

[lonestarState]

Wonder if the liver he got has some honky tonk in it! Cheers!

[blusky08]

Give the man some privacy already.

[das7282]

Hmmm? I wonder?... Or rather I have no doubt he was moved to the front of the waiting list of transplant recipients just because of who he is...

[ckh1272]

Well, since you have no proof, then it's just pure speculation. Give it a rest.

[compbry15]

Not to mention he moved to Tennessee supposedly, where the line was shorter. If he was able to cut the line, wouldn't a move be kind of unneeded?

[ikramerica--2008]

Makes sense to me. And he may have been seeking a transplant since his original cancer treatment, thus making it a mulit-year wait. From what I understand, the list is national, but you must be available to have the transplant ASAP close to the location of the organ. By moving to Tennessee, the list was shorter of people ahead of him. Then they factor in blood type, the suitability, severity of condition, etc. So it took 3 months or so of waiting in Tennessee, not being able to travel far, being available 24/7, to get the transplant.

Do non-wealthy people have the luxury of being able to easily afford that kind of move? Some don't, but many find a way. It's common. And there are also various organizations that make a place for you to live for this purpose. Ronald McDonald house for children, is one of them.

[b_baggins]

Liver transplants can use live donors because the liver can regenerate. The donor has a portion of his liver removed and transplanted into the recipient. about 6 weeks later, both have complete livers.

[blusky08]

Human beings have a strong survival instinct, so let's not be casting any stones. How many of us here would be tempted to move a little further to the front of the line by any means possible? Lists, fairness, etc., mean little in the face of death.

[jjacobus]

So if you're rich, you can get to the head of the transplant line while my niece died because she because of a lock of donors. If the family could have afforded to move her to another state, might have been different. Non-celebritys don't get those options. Meanwhile Jobs deceives shareholds of Apple, Pixar, Disney by withholding material issues that could affect stock price. The elitist scumbag.

[ewelch]

Sorry for your loss, but that was out of line.

[SeizeCTRL]

How was it out of line? He makes a very valid point... that if you are rich, you get to do things like move to another state just to get higher up on the 'give me a liver so I can move back to Cali' list. There should be a law that if he be required to spend several years living in the state where he got the transplant.

Say you had kidney failure and had been on a waiting list for over a year... then all of sudden some rich celebrity guy moves to your state because he has a better chance of getting a kidney... and just when they find you a donor, they give it to the rich and powerful CEO, then he packs his bags and moves back to his state leaving you still needing a kidney, forcing you to wait even longer. Would you still consider that out of line?

Would you feel differently about this if it was Bill Gates or maybe Rush Limbaugh? Don't be an Apple apologist over this because of some brand loyalty... this just seems very unethical and unfair to anyone else on a liver waiting list.

[baconstang]

His liver might have been an easier match than your niece.

[nixermac]

May she rest in peace. God be with her. I understand that the loss of your niece does cause bitter circumstances. In the case of Steve receiving the liver transplant, we are not ever sure of it. Also he moved to TN since the line was shorter. USA is a free country and for personal benefits I have the right to purchase a house in any of the fifty nifty states and move there too as and when I like. I can move out when I like. I can have my records in AK and stay in NY.

If Steve did receive the liver in TN he got it faster there because the lines are shorter there. It is perfectly legit. Don't we all get in the shortest line when we can?

[Random_Walk]

"So if you're rich, you can get to the head of the transplant line while my niece died because she because of a lock [sic] of donors."

Something smells fishy. A given donor's liver may or may not be a fit to a given recipient due to blood type, age/size, how the donor died, presence/abscence of such things as hepatitis, etc. Lots of factors involved, none of them having to do with money. Anybody who really did have a close relative waiting on a transplant list would know this (because most doctors go way the hell out of their way to explain it). For a peek, see this: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Gastroenterology/LiverTransplantation/14434

'course, don't let that get in the way of a good old fashioned baseless OS rocks/sucks argument...

[b_baggins]

I call BS right now. Liver transplants can use live donors. So if your niece died because of lack of donors, then you're an SOB because you didn't get tested.

[Hillymeg]

When I read this, I kept wondering if Jobs' decision was ethical - my mom has pancreatic cancer and I know the disease has terrible odds, so my immediate thought was, "Is he taking a liver from someone who might have a better chance at life?" We're blogging about it at Everyday Ethics if you want to weigh in:
[CNET editor's note: Prohibited spam link deleted.]

[islandgirl45cv]

When I read this, I kept wondering if Jobs' decision was ethical - my mom has pancreatic cancer and I know the disease has terrible odds, so my immediate thought was, "Is he taking a liver from someone who might have a better chance at life?" We're blogging about it at Everyday Ethics if you want to weigh in: [CNET editor's note: Link deleted]



This is just a despicable comment and an attempt to push your own blog and agenda. BTW, I posted a response on your blog.beliefnet but in case it is mysteriously deleted, I'm including part of it here.

First, I worked several years ago at a hospital with a kidney transplant program. Each and every prospective patient went through an extensive transplant review process to determine if the person was a viable candidate for organ transplant. Their individual wealth played no role in that, and some had been on more than one regional transplant list waiting for a kidney. You don't buy organs here in the U.S.

Second, it's been widely reported that Steve Jobs did not suffer from a "normal" pancreatic cancer, but from a rare tumor called "islet cell cancer," which generally has a much better prognosis. According to comments I read on another blog from a physician who treats islet cell tumors, it is common for them to metastasize (seed) into the liver - but a liver transplant can cure patients in those instances.

If you're going to debate ethics, start with the truth, not a false statement that pushes your agenda.

[b_baggins]

Maybe you should have read a little more and then you would have realized that liver transplants can use live donors. The pattern here is becoming pretty obvious. The more ignorant a person, the more likely they are gripped with class envy.

[saeednas]

We pray for your complete recovery , Steve ! We owe you so much ! Hope to see you healthy, getting back to the tech world !!!

Jobs stopped all charitable giving by Apple when he returned to Apple. He has had cancer and I wonder why he needed a liver transplant. What happened to his liver. I am sure you would have had to have lived in Tennessee for a certain amount of time to become a resident but it seems that Jobs became an instant resident. Is he now a California resident again. Tennessee probably has some explaining to do.

For all the people who complain about Microsoft, Bill Gates is a great giver and has donated over 50 billion to charity. Apple and Jobs has given how much? Apple drones should stop praising Jobs. When Apple went public Steve Wozniak shared with the other employees a good portion of his stock. Steve Jobs refused to share any. He is not a good person.

[ewelch]

Not true about charitable giving. He just doesn't make a big deal out of it.

[pentest]

Gates does it for publicity, hardly a charitable action.

[sgrmba]

Untrue - he did move to keep it private, as is preferred with all things they do. They are consistent in this approach. A great deal of donations come from them publicly and privately and great efforts are taken to keep that out of any PR.

[pennmike]

Wow. That's a whole heck of a lot of assumptions on your part. Have any facts to support them? Residency law in Tenn., for starters? Whether or not transplant lists in a given state are tied to legal residency, or mere presence in a state?

[svgtom]

@pentest

Your comment is a cheap and pathetic excuse to trash Gates and MS. Bill Gates did not form a charitable donation for publicity. He is now devoting his life to his charitable organization. Did you ever think that maybe the guy just wants to do some good in the world?

[monkeyfun14]

@unamed user


That would be against what his Fanboy handbook tells him.

[baconstang]

I hope Gates is better with charity than with OS's.

[dudesmiles]

i bet the hospital used windows

[ckh1272]

I am blown away by the last 3 out of four comments (esp. the last two). To the poster refuses to display a user name (cowardly, if you ask me), unless you have proof of what Steve Jobs and Apple have done with their money, please use that BS to fertilize the yard!

To dudesmiles-I bet you thought you were clever. <sarcasm>

To hillymeg-I sympathize with your plight, but using this story to push a website/blog is a little self righteous. Once again, provide proof that there are/were misgivings regarding Jobs health, then your post looks more credible. BTW, My G-mother died from colon and liver cancer within six months of diagnosis, so don't think I am personally slamming anyone.

To the rest of the posters: Try to keep the negative BS to yourselves. This was a story about a serious subject and shouldn't be subjected to the normal trolling BS that accompanies every other article. Let the facts come out first before making assumptions.