With Steve Jobs’s consent, the Memphis hospital that conducted his liver transplant two months ago issued a statement denying he received any special treatment, classifying him as “the sickest person on the waiting list.”
https://gizmodo.com/steve-jobs-recovering-from-a-liver-transplant-still-re-5297650
Presumably in response to the New York Times’ speculation that Jobs’ wealth and influence helped him secure a liver sooner than he might otherwise have, the Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee issued a statement with Jobs’s consent that denied any such thing happened.
“He received a liver transplant because he was the patient with the highest MELD score (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease) of his blood type and, therefore, the sickest patient on the waiting list at the time a donor organ became available,” the hospital said. In addition, Tennessee has a much smaller waiting list than a larger state, like California, which also expedited the process.
The statement does not go into any more detail on the subject, citing a respect for Jobs’s privacy, but does note that Jobs is “recovering well and has an excellent prognosis.” So that should put any ugly speculation to rest.
