Jobs' Liver Transplant Raises Questions

Apple CEO Got A Needed Cancer Treatment; But Did He Have An Advantage Over Other Organ Recipients?

(CBS)  The report this weekend that Apple CEO Steve Jobs received a liver transplant is triggering a lot of talk in the business world.

And it is triggering questions as well about fairness. Jobs certainly had the financial resources to travel and pay out of pocket for his medical care. He reportedly received his transplant in Tennessee, which has a median waiting period of just 48 days, compared to a national median wait of 306 days, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook spoke with CBS Evening News Sunday anchor Russ Mitchell.

Mitchell: We don't know the details of Steve Jobs' liver transplant. But in general, why would somebody need one?

LaPook: The liver is crucial - it cleans the blood and makes vital nutrients. There are two many reasons for transplantation: Liver failure because of damage from hepatitis or alcohol are the most common. But in recent years we're seeing some success with transplantation to treat cancer that's started in the liver or - less commonly - that's spread to the liver.

Mitchell: So what type of cancer are we talking about.

LaPook: I want to emphasize that the most common types of cancer than have spread to liver - such as colon cancer - are not usually treated by transplantation. But the kind that Mr. Jobs reportedly has is a very rare, relatively slow-growing tumor. And there has been some success treating this with transplantation, especially in Europe.

Mitchell: Mr. Jobs went to Tennessee to get his liver, perhaps for privacy, perhaps because there was a shorter waiting list there. Is there disparity to access?

LaPook: There is disparity, but it's better than it used to be. There's now a system where - in regions of the country - the sickest patients get transplanted first and you can't jump ahead of somebody on line. But if you have the resources to travel to another part of the country where livers are more available - such as in Tennessee - then you may have an advantage.

[Chris_Butler]

OS11

The World Wide Web was invented by a person (Tim Berners-Lee) at CERN not by a machine (NextCube).

The man's idea lives on, where is the NextCube. Dead and buried.

See my point. Steve Jobs is still unemployable.

[cdevaney]

As far as I can see, the only advantages Steve Jobs' wealth provided in this case are: 1)he could afford to travel to another state where the list and waiting times were shorter; 2) he didn't have to rely on whether his health ins would pay for a liver transplant at another "non-contracted" center; 3) he could afford to stay locally for an extended period of time for follow-up care.

This has nothing to do with worth or worthiness. I think it's a matter of "work smarter, not harder". It stands to reason that if you go to a transplant center that has a waiting time shorter than the national average and fewer local patients competing for donated organs, you will be transplanted faster.

If more people would sign-up and consent to be organ donors, we wouldn't need to be turning this into an exercise of classist, societal mudslinging. What a treat that would be!

[lizannrand]

Why should anyone be upset with Mr. Jobs? It is unfair that he was able to receive a transplant sooner rather than later like most people do, and probably because he has more money than the average person. The question we have to ask, is it his fault or the agency, healthcare, whomever etc on the decision making end's fault? Everything in life goes to the highest bidder. I don't mean to sound non feeling but it's true. So let's face it, if a "regular" person on a waiting list will generate $75000 (as an example) in revenue for the medical industry after all that is said and done, and Mr. Jobs generates $275000 (as an example), he'll be ushered to the front of the line. Unfair? Yes. His fault he has the means? No. He earned his money in one way or the other. Fault of the "system", persons, healthcare, manager of the list? YES. The saying Money talks and you know what walks is true. If it were Steve Jobs and Bill Gates in the same position, I would assume it would be Bill Gates who got the liver. People in all types of professions, and people in decision making positions all in it for the buck, not the ethnics. It shouldn't matter who can pay the most, it should matter who needs it the most.

[anngw]

Mr Jobs' transplant is a bonus to us all. He has the resources to help develop the most promising treatments and the stature to focus the world's attention. Because of his illness, we will have more effective, more available and less expensive treatments. When I need medical treatment,he will have helped me have access to better care.

[rhs648]

Wealth has everything to do with how well we live. Look around. Those with money can afford better homes, food, automobiles, clothing, and vacations. Why should it be any different when it comes to health care. Money means better doctors, hospitals, and medications. Do you belive thar Senator Kennedy, with his wealth, gets the same health care that the rest of us enjoy. Only a fool would think so.

[cs4466]

When it comes to health, wealth should have ZERO influence. Just because person X has more money than person Y should NOT mean that person X gets a liver transplant faster than person Y. It's that simple.

Once that is an established fact, you'll find out how many more people are going to be donors. They don't want to take the chance that they'll be behind drug abuser X and have to wait. Humans are amazingly selfish creatures - you have to take that into account when making the rules.

[cs4466]

When it comes to health, wealth should have ZERO influence. Just because person X has more money than person Y should NOT mean that person X gets a liver transplant faster than person Y. It's that simple.

[omnibus66]

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal"

But once you become rich, you are more equal than the poor.

[zonkzilla]

Who would even ask the question if the wealthy get special treatment?
Everyone knows the answer to that question it is as old as mankind.

[babooph]

With the years of tax cuts for the rich,it was likely "free" in a way-also very nice that with Asia doing so well,the decline of the x US middle class meant he did not have to arrange a liver from China-the local troglites are a great source of organs for the rich.

[excoachken]

I do not feel jealous, but very bitter that some people think that their checkbook should be used as a trump card for medical care. There is no better example of how sick our present care system is that to see that some of you believe that in our country you deserve better treatment simply because you have more toys. What I do feel for drivel and his heartless comrades in the worship of wealth is pure PITY.

[mnbrant]

Wonder if this guy was an organ donor? Doesn't the fact that he has incurable cancer mean he's probably gonna die soon anyway? Being rich will get you a better class of whisky but thats about all it gets you in the end.

[hermitdave]

A classic example of the final goal as money finally trumps health as the most important thing in the universe. We are not there yet. There are still critical illness and injury that no matter your wealth, you still die. But someday MONEY will finally work it's way to the top. As the old saying goes, "what's happiness can it buy money"?

[Thalia-9]

by lkrupp June 21, 2009 7:25 PM PDT
We know absolutely nothing about what happened or whether Mr. Jobs even had a liver transplant. But this thread was politicized immediately and has now degenerated into the usual name calling by the usual socialist and capitalist protagonists. Remember when Mickey Mantel got a liver transplant years ago? Same argument ensued, same name calling, same outraged ideologues spouting their venom. Some things never change. It's embarrassing to be an American citizen these days

Yup...who are we to judge? It's sad to read the comments for sure. Good luck and speedy/healthy recovery Mr Jobs.

[Imadinnerjacket]

Hear Yee, Hear Yee.. Hear yee....

Make it be known from this day forward that everybody is an organ donor PERIOD.. Instead of having a pink dot that says you are, you must have one that says you are NOT. So, that makes everyone an automatic donor. There would be plenty of organs for everyone then, And this debate of who should go first would simply be NEXT, instead. Write your congress critters, and tell them, you think everyone should be an automatic organ donor unless they stipulate otherwise!!!!!!!!!

[rhs648]

One problem. Many people do not want to be organ donors. Why should a person have to stipulate that he or she doesn't want to be an organ donor. It makes much more sense that those who want to donate organs can stipulate that they will be organ donors. Our society already imposes too many rules on people. Life is complicated enough without forcing people to opt out of things like donating organs. And I haven't even talked about religious prohibitions to donating organs that are part of some religious beliefs.

[rhs648]

This is a great exemple of rationing health care. There are a limited number of livers available for transplanting. Someone makes a decision about who receives a liver transplant. Under universal health care, limited resources will dictate who gets care. Will a 75-year-old person be told that he is too old for open heart surgery or expensive cancer treatments? Will the parents of an infant be told that a life saving procedure is too expensive? If health care is controlled by the government, the government will have the power to determine what type of health care we receive. Years ago I met a person from the Ukraine. His goverment insurance paid for dental procedures such as extractions and fillings. However, novacaine was not covered. If he wanted novacaine, he had to pay for it himself. If Steve Jobs had a liver transplant quickly and ahead of other people, it is because he has the resources to pay for it. That is how we choose vacations, automobiles, and homes. It is based on our resources.

[iamafractal]

With all the stories about scientists growing organs with the patients' own cells, it is unfortunate that Mr. Jobs has to rely on outdated organ transplant technology where he has to use somebody a liver belonging to somebody else.

[lkrupp]

We know absolutely nothing about what happened or whether Mr. Jobs even had a liver transplant. But this thread was politicized immediately and has now degenerated into the usual name calling by the usual socialist and capitalist protagonists. Remember when Mickey Mantel got a liver transplant years ago? Same argument ensued, same name calling, same outraged ideologues spouting their venom. Some things never change. It's embarrassing to be an American citizen these days.

[wogerwabbit]

Did He Have An Advantage Over Other Organ Recipients?

Of course he did, he's rich and can easily afford the kind of health care the rest of us can't... kinda like the health care we provide our members of congress... through our taxes. Only the rich and pampered get to live the quality of life endowed in our Constitution, the rest of us live off their scraps. The haves and the have nots... Wall Street vs. Main Street... the republican focus on ME rather than WE, which is sealing their doom in American politics because WE rule in the end with our votes. The majority rules and they should get used to it. Isn't that what America's all about?

[drivelphobe]

chris butler..

so.....accept it or do something about it. Jobs is a proven leader and exhibits unique abilities to achieve. It's shallow of you to demean him.

Anyway, back to the subject. Access to the very best, including bypassing the line, is part of the American dream. It goes on everywhere, everyday and rightfully so. Are you suggesting that an incarcerated illegal alien with a need for a heart transplant should even be on a list? Do you believe that some plumber, which you brought up, earning $75,000 per year is entitled to the same benefits, goods, services, access as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, George Bush, etc. , etc.? We all have our opinions, but to the victor go the spoils. Go to Vegas and see how the high rollers and celebrities bypass the lines. Go to a hospital and see how the large donors and city leaders get preferred parking, private rooms and immediate care while others struggle for parking and wait for hours in their doctors' offices or emergency rooms. It is the way it is.

Have a nice week.