“Not only did Apple come awfully close to losing Jobs over the last few months, but he will never be truly out of the woods,” Dana Blankenhorn writes for ZDNet’s “Healthcare” section.
MacDailyNews Take: ZDNet’s “Healthcare” section?
Blankenhorn continues, “The bottom line is that Jobs is very lucky to be alive following a liver transplant. The first successful liver transplant took place in 1967, but it did not become common until the 1980s, with the introduction of cyclosporine.”
“About 6,000 liver transplants are now done each year in the U.S., but the waiting list for organs averages 17,000. Those waiting lists could be reduced as more donors can now survive having part of their liver removed for transplant,” Blankenhorn writes.
“How and why did Jobs jump the queue? He was dying faster than others, the company now admits,” Blankenhorn writes. “Paul Argenti of Dartmouth’s business school says Apple deserves to face SEC action for lying about failing to disclose Jobs’ condition, which is the outgrowth of his 2004 pancreatic cancer… I agree.”
“Why, Steve? Were you embarrassed? Not want us to make a fuss? Don’t like get well cards? Or were you trying to boost your own fortunes in case the liver didn’t come and you actually did die?” Blankenhorn asks.
“It’s hard to have to ask these questions, even though Jobs is reportedly back at work, because he is, and will remain, a very sick man,” Blankenhorn writes. “Jobs will have to take drugs that suppress his immune system for the rest of his life. He’s got a 9 in 10 chance of still being with us in 2014.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Or, perhaps, Mr. Jobs was initially incorrectly diagnosed instead of “lying,” like virtually everyone who’s visited a healthcare professional has experienced at least once, whether it be as mundane as the common cold or as serious as liver disease or worse? Maybe Mr. Jobs really did think he was dealing with a hormonal imbalance and then further testing a week later revealed a very serious problem with his liver? Or is that just too drama-free for Mr. Blankenhorn?
The timeline – and all we really know for sure – can be perused in the “Related articles” below.
MacDailyNews Note: Did you know that each organ and tissue donor saves or improves the lives of as many as 50 people? Each day, about 77 people receive organ transplants. However, 19 people die each day waiting for transplants that can’t take place because of the shortage of donated organs. Giving the “Gift of Life” may lighten the grief of the donor’s own family. Many donor families say that knowing other lives have been saved helps them cope with their tragic loss. More info about organ and tissue donation can be found here: OrganDonor.gov
