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.

[ssharkman]

must be nice to have that kind of $$$. the waiting list is around 2 years for that. he jumped in the front of the line. so much for the poor in america.

[SeizeCTRL]

I completely agree.

[ikramerica--2008]

Then you are just as completely wrong as sharkman.

Jobs was diagnosed with cancer 6 years ago! He has been treated and we have NO IDEA how long he has been waiting.

he was on regional lists around the country (many people are on multiple lists). He may have been waiting four years or more for all we know.

So many people are making grand assumptions based on "moved to Tennessee 5 months ago," but that only implies that in January, he was finally up high enough on the list that he had to be available 24/7, ready to get the transplant. Then he waited for 2-3 more months before a suitable organ was finally available.

It's so sad and sick that people wish someone ill or think they are evil for not just giving up and dying because he happens to be well known and wealthy.

[b_baggins]

Again, I call BS. Liver transplants can use live donors.

[SeizeCTRL]

Am I the only one who finds it a tad bit sleazy that he "relocated" to another state just to get a liver? I mean I wish him well and all, but you would think someone of his stature could easily get on the list in California... but he side-skirted protocol, went to a different state and got a liver. I'm not saying that it's equal to going to Mexico or China and picking up a black market liver, but it seems a bit unfair to anyone in Tennessee who might have been waiting on a liver and he just jumps on his private plane, takes up a temporary residence, cuts in line, gets his liver and leaves... sorry to anyone who finds offense in this, but I find that a bit sleazy.

[ewelch]

No, but I find it a bit sleazy that people don't understand that some people get livers earlier because they find a match. And who said he moved to another state? Some dweeb here?

[SeizeCTRL]

Read the article... it says that he RELOCATED to Tennessee.

California has a much higher population than Tennessee, so in all likely hood, he would have had a higher probability of finding a donor... but he went to TN, which had a smaller waiting list. Now it all depends on if he got special treatment in TN because of who he is, while others who were already residing in TN were waiting for a transplant.

Celebrity status and a lot of cash gets you special perks the rest of the population cannot afford. So to me, moving to another state just to get a liver quicker than you would in your own home state seems sleazy! I could careless that it's Steve Jobs, or Bill Gates or Barrack Obama, no matter who it is, it's sleazy! I say this after buying a 32gb iPhone yesterday. So I don't hate Apple or Steve Jobs, I just detest this situation as it seems sleazy and unethical.

[dex81]

I work on a transplant unit and ewelch is right, some patients gets organs earlier than others because the available organ is a match to them than the one on top of the list. Plus, with him moving to a state who has a shorter list made it easier for him to get one but not necessarily cutting in line to get one. He just made his chances greater by going to a shorter list. You can call it what you want but in reality, people with money do get the best health care. Personally, I wouldn't call it sleazy but just an act of self preservation. I mean, imagine if it's your wife, daughter, son that needs a transplant and you have all the money to do something and relocate so you can have a better chance of getting an organ, wouldn't you do so? As long as no person was killed so he can have a donor organ (which is not only sleazy but downright criminal), I don't have a problem with it.

By the way, I'm no Apple fan boy but a PC to the bones, still, I would like to say get well soon Mr. Steve Jobs, hope all goes well.

[ckh1272]

I agree with dex81. Most of these negative posts have nothing to do with the man's health. They just want to make assumptions and innuendo because of some personal dislike of a company that this man happens to run. They only read what they want to read. Ignorance is bliss indeed.

[b_baggins]

And yet again...

Live transplants can use live donors.

Maybe the article author should just put that in the article parenthetically to shut up the ignorant class envy types around here.

[man_w_balls]

Alcoholism can give you both pancreatic cancer and liver problems. Is Jobs a drunk? I wonder....
Oh well, I got drunk last night too. My head kinda hurts.

[monkeyfun14]

Exactly what I was thinking lol.

[ckh1272]

monkeyfun14-Why am I not surprised by your moronic comments? I guess man_w_balls should be added to that list of short sighted people trying to make humor out of a situation where there is no humor. There has to be a line somewhere. I wonder if you would be making these same statements if it was Bill Gates or worse, a family member!

[monkeyfun14]

I was just giving insight since the main cause of liver failure is alcoholism...

[ckh1272]

"by monkeyfun14 June 21, 2009 10:09 AM PDT
I was just giving insight since the main cause of liver failure is alcoholism..."

How can I say this nicely? B---S---!!

[ArkieCal]

May God Bless Mr. Jobs.

[David Dudley]

And this is exactly what I posted weeks ago on News.com! :-) I am going to pay myself on the back for posting this earlier. My Apple contacts are better than the WSJ's! ;-)

[David Dudley]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10257987-37.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

by David Dudley June 5, 2009 8:10 AM PDT
So the liver transplant was successful?

[shaunom]

Who really cares

[pennmike]

Apparently, a lot of people here. Did you not read?

[sgrmba]

If the story is even true - hope of continued recovery and health to him and his family considering what they have probably endured over the years. I am a little concerned that so much anger, acrimony, and bitterness fill so many comment sections on so many websites these days.

Thanks for reading this. Your time is appreciated. Hope you have a pleasant day.

[pentest]

I would assume it is true, BBC reported on it and they are a solid news organization, unlike CNET that just reposts from other sites.

[tipoo_]

Ironic how Steve, the vegan and health nut, has to go through pancreatic cancer and now a liver transplant, and the "other" Steve who couldn't care less about what he eats and is in nowhere near as good a shape as Jobs is perfectly healthy.


All the best to Jobs, lets hope he has another three or four decades in him.

[ikramerica--2008]

I do find things like that a bit ironic, or poetic justice maybe (not in a mean way, just in a "huh" sort of way). You see it all the time. People living to 95 eating all the "wrong" things all their life. Then again, I think Vegans are silly people with control issues who use diet to be extra anal about their lives (every one I've met personally has been of this personality type) and Steve does sort of fit that mold, too.

But, that's nothing to do with wishing him well. He helps keep Apple on track, and I like my computers, so maybe that anal control freak attitude is what we need. If that means being a Vegan, that's up to him.

[KevinK]

No established causality is not all that uncommon, my mother in law died of pancreatic cancer last year and never smoked, drank or did any of the things that most people associate with increased risk for pancreatic cancer.

Common actvities like eating grilled meats that have been strongly charred on the surface actually significantly increase the risk.

Few alcoholics ever develop pancreatic cancer in any form.

Steve Jobs was lucky to be diagnosed quickly and to have a form that was treatable, most victims die very quickly and unpleasantly after diagnosis - this is truly one cancer that modern medecine has a poor track record at treating.

I hope Steve Jobs makes a good and speedy recovery.

[mike.gw]

Mr Jobs, I'm sure you've had more than enough health scares. Wishing you a full recovery, best of health, and all the time you need to live out your dreams and desires.

And for forum readers that love to bash one camp or another, you really should watch the Podcast hosted by Walt Mossberg as he interviewed both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. In watching the interview, while you can see each leader took a different approach to offering technology to the masses, they both have a tremendous amount of mutual respect and admiration for each other. It would be wonderful if forum readers conducted themselves in a similar manner.

[ckh1272]

My thoughts exactly, but the Net makes it all too easy for some people to act like 3rd graders and pooh flinging monkeys..

[MrRetardo]

I hear Steve got an iLiver. Its like your normal liver but WAY cooler!! And it doesnt crash!! And is free from Viruses!! It comes with iTransplant, a spiffy new way to add new organs.

[monkeyfun14]

Unfortunately it only accepts the most expensive alcohol.

[ikramerica--2008]

And it has bluetooth. But he got his iLiver just before they added the SD card slot, so he may have to get a new one...

[SteadyFwd]

He who lives is a liver. Miss ya Steve Jobs and hoping for a full recovery!

[glassdish]

If you have money and power you can do anything you want, that's the way it is. Jobs has both. The guy clearly is very ill, and he is willing to do anything to stay alive. With that said, it should be been disclosed to shareholders. Jobs is a brilliant businessman but not so good at delegation, if he really cared about the company he would step back and not make himself so indispensable, guess that is a byproduct of having such a huge ego. At least he did not go to China to find a donor.

[monkeyfun14]

Yes its just better that he is stepping on people here.

[ckh1272]

I guess the pooh flinging doesn't stop at Apple products. Now, you go after the man's health. Real classy.

[monkeyfun14]

@ckh

People do the same **** to Bill Gates man donates billions to charity and you right wing fanboys act like it was for selfish reasons..

[ckh1272]

"by monkeyfun14 June 21, 2009 10:10 AM PDT
@ckh

People do the same **** to Bill Gates man donates billions to charity and you right wing fanboys act like it was for selfish reasons.."

Lumping me together with other short sighted morons is your biggest F-up!! Go look through all my posts. You not find one comment by me in regards to what Bill Gates does with his money. Truthfully, I could give a rat's a@@ about what any rich tycoon does with their money, whether it is Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Oprah Winfrey. I know I am asking the impossible, but could you just get your facts straight for once??

[pentest]

"People do the same **** to Bill Gates man donates billions to charity and you right wing fanboys act like it was for selfish reasons.."

It is.

The kingpin Gates doesn't give a dollar unless it benefits him in some way, and certainly doesn't do it without a press release.

[kermit4161]

Good luck and get well soon Steve. You are missed!

[AppleSuxLeo]

If the liver came from a PC/Windows user , chances are it will reject.

[ckh1272]

Idiot!

[crue24]

Multiple points to comment on:

I am more of trader than an invetstor and I have bought sold Apple many times usually for a nice profit. However I wish I had invested when I first got into the stock, which was when I bought my first mac in 2001, would have made a fortune! However if I had lost money because of his illness, so be it. I think his privacy is more important.

So you say a billionaire has better access to the best doctors and possibly got preferential treatment in getting an organ? Shocker. This is after all a capitalist country and that's just the way it works. How many AIDS patients live long healthy lives like Magic Johnson? It's the nature of capitalism. I sympathize with the poor, but that's the way it is. I'm a capitalist, but no I'm far from rich.

As to the ethics. Get off your high horse and get real! I don't know and don't pretend to know the details of what he did. It may have been 100% legitimate, it may have been a little questionable or it may even have been outright criminal. But yourself in his shoes, and especially to those who have lost loved ones; think about it: would you not do absolutely everything within your power, whether influence or money to save your life or that of your wife or child? Of course you would, it's in your biochemistry. People have resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. When you're talking life or death, your natural instincts are going to over ride any of societies "right or wrong".

I was in weapons training with a police officer and asked him: "I carry a legal sized pocket knife, but if I were to be attacked and I killed the attacker, could I be charged with using a lethal weapon because I used it in that fashion?" His response: "Do whatever you have to do to stay alive. You're better off fighting criminal charges than being dead."

My point is; it's easy to judge when you're not in the situation, but regardless of whether his actions were "ethical" or not; every last poster here would do anything within there means to save the life of themselves or a loved one. Societal rules will never trump our natural instincts in matters of life and death.

To anyone that posted mac vs. windows in this: you're a moron, we're talking about a man's life. Not to mention for all my fellow geeks, a man who has made unmeasurable contributions to technology. You may be the most avid Windows user, but you should acknowledge the fact that Apple and Steve Jobs personally were critical in making computers what they are today.

[ikramerica--2008]

Magic Johnson does not have AIDS. He has HIV, the virus linked to AIDS, though there are many, many people who live with HIV who never get AIDS, and there are people with AIDS who have not tested positive for HIV, so thinking is that it is a trigger more than anything.

Having met Magic personally, worked with him on a charity commercial, he is a very nice person. He is self-deprecating, he treats people who work with and for him with respect, he takes time to take pictures with people, at HIS suggestion, even when he is late for something else. He is a savvy business person and does a lot to help his community and charities. So if he is getting better treatment because he's wealthy (as South Park said in one of their episodes), he's also doing a lot more for society than most other people are in return. Seems like a fair trade to me...

[trkwkr179]

Get better soon!!! I've been dealing w/similar health issues for almost 5 years now. I know the pain, and no troll comments should be allowed here. Please, be respectful, it's shows maturity (or your lack thereof).

[lkrupp]

I have never seen so many scumbags posting in one thread at the same time, ever. It's amazing to see what people are really like when they are able to hide in the bushes. Based on pure hatred they propose all manner of hideous motives and theories without a single shred of proof or fact.

[bvdon]

Really surprised by so many negative comments. I for one have Apple to thank for the career I enjoy. I started in the 80's doing Ready, Set Go, then later on I used Quark and Photoshop 2.5 (before they had Layers. I also went to school for Computer Science and the labs had the old Mac Classics. I used the Quadra 605 to build my first website in 1995 and started a career as a web developer and still do that to this day. Steve Jobs is a pioneer and people like him changed our world for the better. For me though, Steve Jobs had the most influence on my life. Thank you, Steve... and get well soon. There's a lot more to be done.

[dragonsky1]

If this was any other serious website, these comments would have been locked by now. Some of things said have been appalling. You people don't think Bill Gates would put him self on an out of state transplant list if he had to? You don't think he would travel for surgery?

I work in EMS, and I transport people all the time to Childrens Hospital in Pittsburgh, because they are one of the best children's hospital in the country. Can most people afford to fly their child in medical helicopter to Pittsburgh? No, but unfortunately in a capitalist health system, that's just the way things work. It may not be the best system, but it's what we have to work with, and it's a better option than what many other countries have.

[ikramerica--2008]

So true. There's censorship and then there's removing slander and disgusting personal, disgusting attacks. Maybe some find it a "fine line" but most anyone with a brain knows the difference.

[georgiarat]

Steve Jobs is one of the true technology visionaries. I hope he can survive and provide input into the changes we need to advance technology of the next twenty years!