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Thursday June 25, 2009
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Everybody is talking about Steve Jobs's liver, it seems--well, everyone except for Apple and Jobs himself. Responding to mounting rumors, Methodist University Hospital, the hospital that operated on Jobs, sent out a press release confirming the procedure. While Methodist University sent the note out with the Apple CEO's blessing, it seemed like a strange move, particularly in light of Apple's ever-present secrecy.
Another bizarre turn in the story came today when Dr. James Eason, the head of the hospital's transplant unit, held a press conference to address the subject, telling reporters, "Mr. Jobs is doing fine."
The hospital held the conference, in part, to address criticism that Jobs's position had helped him climb to the top of the transplant list. Said Eason,
Whoever's at the top of the list, they're there because they're the sickest. Waiting time isn't even a factor anymore. If someone's been on the list a long time, they're obviously healthy enough to have survived for a long time and therefore by definition might not be the best candidate.
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June 25, 2009 5:00 PM
What an insensitive P****! I'd like to see Dr. Easton present that argument, in person, to the relatives of a recently deceased patient who spent 4 years on the waiting list. If you're not wealthy and not well connected, you're either not sick enough or eventually too sick for a transplant.
June 25, 2009 5:18 PM
It is always interesting to hear other stories regarding transplant patients. The statement about someone being on the list for a long time is too healthy is a very untrue statement, we waiting almost 5 years and during that time spent many days, weeks, months in the hospital actually too sick to be transplanted. The advantage that some have is the ability to move from State to State where waiting list can be shorter, and this will be a factor in the ability to get a transplant. What we need to focus on is the number of individuals that are not organ donors and ask why? We have over 100,000 people waiting for organs in the United States get out there and encourage organ donation - I hope that Steve Jobs will be a strong proponent of this - he does have some influence.