4 ms·

Uh, yeah, all that happening within six months is fucking rare, no matter how much money you have. Because of transplant waiting lists. You don't get higher on

Uh, yeah, all that happening within six months is fucking rare, no matter how much money you have. Because of transplant waiting lists. You don't get higher on them just because you're rich, thankfully.

xenophanes 17y ago
OK. Could all the steps other than waiting for a liver be done within, say, a month? What is the wait time for a liver transplant? I googled and it says it varies a lot by chance and also how sick the patient is. Would Steve have gotten a liver transplant quickly due to the severity of his illness, or are lots of people worse?
- wolfhumble 17y ago
  This article (1) from Macworld says: "According to the hospital release, Jobs had the highest MELD score—Model for End-Stage Liver Disease—among patients of his blood type at the time of the procedure". 1) http://www.macworld.com/article/141336/jobs_transplant_confirmed.html http://www.macworld.com/article/141336/jobs_transplant_confi...
willwagner 17y ago
I wondered how long he was on the waiting list ever since the news broke. From my own naive lack of understanding, I wouldn't have guessed you could get a diagnosis, get on the waiting list, get a transplant, and be back to work in 6 months. It's hard to google up what the average wait time for a liver transplant, but it does sound that the worse you are, the higher you get moved on the list. You may not get moved up the list by being rich, but it does help your increase your odds. With access to the best doctors to help make a good diagnosis quickly, knowledge of the transplant list criteria and the latest medical advances, and the ability to refer you to the best of the best surgeons and specialists, I'm sure he has a leg up over people like me with a crappy PPO insurance policy, let alone someone on Medicare.
veritgo 17y ago
Jobs had the transplant in Tennessee, which has shorter wait lists for livers: "According to data provided by UNOS, in 2006, the median number of days from joining the liver waiting list to transplant was 306 nationally. In Tennessee, it was 48 days." 48 is significantly lower than 180. http://daringfireball.net/2009/06/wsj_steve_jobs_liver_transplant http://daringfireball.net/2009/06/wsj_steve_jobs_liver_trans...

xenophanes 17y ago

OK. Could all the steps other than waiting for a liver be done within, say, a month? What is the wait time for a liver transplant? I googled and it says it varies a lot by chance and also how sick the patient is. Would Steve have gotten a liver transplant quickly due to the severity of his illness, or are lots of people worse?

wolfhumble 17y ago
This article (1) from Macworld says: "According to the hospital release, Jobs had the highest MELD score—Model for End-Stage Liver Disease—among patients of his blood type at the time of the procedure". 1) http://www.macworld.com/article/141336/jobs_transplant_confirmed.html http://www.macworld.com/article/141336/jobs_transplant_confi...

willwagner 17y ago

I wondered how long he was on the waiting list ever since the news broke. From my own naive lack of understanding, I wouldn't have guessed you could get a diagnosis, get on the waiting list, get a transplant, and be back to work in 6 months. It's hard to google up what the average wait time for a liver transplant, but it does sound that the worse you are, the higher you get moved on the list. You may not get moved up the list by being rich, but it does help your increase your odds. With access to the best doctors to help make a good diagnosis quickly, knowledge of the transplant list criteria and the latest medical advances, and the ability to refer you to the best of the best surgeons and specialists, I'm sure he has a leg up over people like me with a crappy PPO insurance policy, let alone someone on Medicare.

veritgo 17y ago

Jobs had the transplant in Tennessee, which has shorter wait lists for livers: "According to data provided by UNOS, in 2006, the median number of days from joining the liver waiting list to transplant was 306 nationally. In Tennessee, it was 48 days." 48 is significantly lower than 180. http://daringfireball.net/2009/06/wsj_steve_jobs_liver_transplant http://daringfireball.net/2009/06/wsj_steve_jobs_liver_trans...