While no one really knows if this is the case here, it's a fact that at the root of almost everything man is involved in is money.
And it's no secret that the golden rule is: "The man with the gold, makes the rules".
Nevertheless, the man's life was saved. Love him or hate him, Steve Jobs has impacted this planet in a big way. I'm happy that the liver went to someone who is making a difference.
Glad to hear it worked out in the end. May he live a long and productive life, and put that new unit to good use.
RBW
really? are you that stupid?
I got my Liver within 24hours of being listed. Without you knowing what my MELD score was, I bet you could tell me my net worth is.
Some people need to get real and stop being so damn jealous of successful people in the world.
If you're rich enough like mickey mantle or this guy, you'll get a liver. Is it too much stigma for him to admit he has HepC?
I am convinced that Jobs has HCV and the cancer is a cover-up.
Think about it~between living in the S.F. Bay area where hep C is rampant and his age. I looked at pictures of him in his black shirt and swear he was trying to hide his acsites.
He had no problem announcing his pancreatic cancer several years ago. Although, money talks, people with previous cancers are not eligible for cadaveric livers.
There is the chance, like me, that he had a live liver tp.
Before the adoption of the MELD score points were given on the basis of time spent waiting. That is not true today. If you walked into a center and was tested and given a MELD score of 38 you would likely get the next available liver regardless of wealth. And the MELD score is not subjective - it is a formula based on INR. bilirubin and creatinine -- and the there is cancer too. That's it. So yes, money may allow him to fly around and get listed at more centers - he can choose more easily than someone with less means but he cannot manufacture a MELD score and that is the determinative element after blood type and size.
Allocation of organs used to be far more subjective and susceptible to influence. It is not like that today. And, furthermore a suspicion or diagnosis of liver carcinoma is a criteria that really does matter in the allocation process.
I may be naive but I really and truly see it that way. I don't necessarily like the MELD score as it is formulated today but I think that it is followed strictly.
Mike
Bill,
Very interesting about the multiple state listing, but how does one do that?
What's the down side?
I mean does the doc have to list you, or do you have to have a private jet on standby to get you to the donor liver or what?
How long will a liver survive if outside the human body?
These are things I've never even thought to ask.
Copyman,
You might want to look on the bright side, even if it is true...that if Jobs does have HCV at least HCV research may stand to get some badly needed research dollars as a result.
Not that I want to see anybody get this virus, but I can't say I don't think it's a plus when a billionaire gets a disease, for we little people in a roundabout way it is a plus.
People tend to be much more generous towards disease they or a family member has suffered from.
So Jobs gets a liver, good for him, when he shrinks Ipods to wrist watch size we'll all be glad and happy ; ),,,finally **** Tracy watches!
. The ones that really bother me are when our own countrymen are not getting our organs. What bothered me was when the Japanese mafia were flying into UCLA for their livers. I suppose one might call that ethnic OR job discrimination, but it's not.
Even if not politically correct in some minds to me it's just morally reprehensible to let foreign criminals cut in line...
I think our country's organs should be for our countrymen, not criminals or mobsters from across any pond, no matter what they can pay or donate. By the look of him, I'd say Bin Laden could use a new liver...if the "any big donation" operandi continues next we'll be flying him in for a transplant. (jk)
mb
Good article. I think this helps clarify any misunderstandings on why Jobs might have received a liver quickly. He had apparently developed a malignant tumor; this would place him near the top of the list, I believe, and as Mike suggested. And if this weren’t enough, he listed in Tennessee, where availability is much less of an object than waiting in his home state of California. This dispels any thoughts of wealth or power being the driving force behind this, in my opinion. (Of course, I didn’t think so anyway :o)).
http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/21/steve-jobs-liver-national-organ-transplant-act-opinions-contributors-sally-satel.html
“Steve Jobs, the 54-year-old CEO of Apple, received a new liver two months ago. As the Wall Street Journal disclosed late Friday, Jobs' own liver had reportedly been invaded by a slow-growing pancreatic tumor that was first discovered in 2004. Thankfully, the Apple visionary is expected to return to work by the end of this month.
Jobs' recent health problems--which attracted attention last winter because of his striking weight loss--have been a matter of intense speculation in Silicon Valley and the tech world beyond.
Notably, Jobs received the liver in Tennessee, not in his home state of California. Perhaps he sought privacy in a distant state. My guess is that he registered for the transplant in several states at once in order to take advantage of the shorter waiting times in some locales, a perfectly legal option.
Considering the statistics, a person in need of a new organ would be crazy not to take advantage of the multiple-listing option.
The median waiting time for a new liver in Tennessee is six weeks compared to 10 months nationwide. A 10-month wait might not seem so long, but it is lethal for people who develop acute liver failure and can die within days unless transplanted.
California, for example, 449 people awaiting livers were removed from the list last year because they died or were too sick to transplant, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (unos.org). Compare this to Tennessee where only 45 people were removed”
Bill
Mike I know you are smarter then this and have to realize money talks. You are right I do not know his meld score but I do know he got a liver FAST !!! there are thousands with high meld scores dying everyday. Funny when you have money you suddenly jump past people on the list. You can fool yourself all you want but I know money will get you preference over the average person. With the kind of wealth he has he could go to another country and buy someones liver.
Oh, I read a while back that his previous pancreatic tumor may have metastasized to his liver. Also, if it didn't spread outside the liver then he would be considered for a liver transplant. So, maybe that is what happened.
yes, my stock depends on him.
God bless the man! I hope he will have a long healthy fruitful life. Apple has made my life so much easier...
Anyway, everyone knows that I am an ifreak / ifan... :-)
There is another program too....the one i posted above is another one...i seen it in the local paper
Government Provides Job-Protected Leave For Living Organ Donors
Living organ donors in Ontario will soon have the benefit of job-protected leave.
Ontario has passed amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to provide unpaid job-protected leave for employees who donate certain organs to another individual. The amendments come into force upon proclamation.
The legislation builds on the $4 million announced in 2007 to implement an Organ Donation Strategy. The strategy includes the establishment of the Program for Reimbursing Expenses of Living Organ Donors, a fund that will reimburse living organ donors for certain eligible, out-of-pocket expenses and lost income associated with their organ donation.
Living donation has many advantages such as reducing wait times and patient suffering, increased transplant success, and reduced health costs.
http://www.news.ontario.ca/mol/en/2009/05/new-legislation-will-assist-living-organ-donors.html
New organ donation programs here in canada ...not sure how it goes,but its suppose to be like a chain reaction,almost like the pyramind set up....ill google to see if i can find the info again
Well, since we don't know his MELD score you have no idea of the accuracy, or even the relevance, of what you're saying.
It's not surprising that people immediately think like that but it is lamentable.
Everyone loves thinking the worst about someone with money.
I got my liver within one month because it was suspected that I had cancer. Of course I am a billionaire too.
Mike
What this tells me is that if you have money you can get a liver much faster then the average person on the waiting on a list.
He may have had hep c....then got the cancer....they dont reveal all.
I just checked the App store and they don't have a liver app listed. I cant wait!