Special Report: Steve Jobs' ordeal translates into new hope for Californians
New organ donor law improves chances for those in need of organ transplants
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law a bill that will make California the first state in the nation to create a live donor registry for kidney transplants. The new law also requires California drivers to decide whether they want to be organ donors when they renew their drivers' licenses. This measure could very well double the number of organ transplants available in California. Such a radical rethinking of donor availability can be traced to the tribulations that Apple CEO Steve Jobs faced underwent when he found out that one of his kidneys was failing.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs wan and sick appearance in 2008 had many people fearing the worst. Now the lucky recipient of a liver transplant, Jobs has made it his business to make sure that all Californians get a chance at a new organ.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Jobs has appeared wan and ill, and had shocked the world when he announced in December 2008 when he announced that he would not deliver Apple's keynote at the upcoming 2009 Macworld Convention. Jobs' liver was failing and he was learning that the need for a suitable liver donor was a life or death matter.
Unfortunately, 3,400 Californians were waiting for a new liver in 2009, only 671 got one and 400 died while waiting.
Jobs traveled around the U.S. to pay big fees to be examined by various doctors at various hospitals in order to get on as many waiting lists as possible. Called multiple-listing, hospitals look at their own lists before moving on to the national one.
The process is very time consuming. One of the hospitals where Jobs got listed required an interview with a doctor, an interview with a social worker, complete medical work including lab tests, an abdominal ultrasound, psychological clearance, a colonoscopy, an EKG, "and a number of other tests."
Most people just can't afford to do this. Their insurance companies only cover one listing because getting listed is very expensive.
And then in the month of March - a miracle occurred. Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee reached him to say that they had a liver and that he was the best candidate to receive it via transplant.
Steve acted fast. During the week of March 22, 2009 Steve underwent surgery. The liver came from a person in their mid-20s who died in a car crash.
By June, Steve had recovered enough that he allowed it to be leaked to the Wall Street Journal that he would return by the end of the month. In September, Steve was healthy enough to speak at Apple's annual refresh of its iPod line. Jobs was back on his game and feeling healthier than he had in years ... but something about his whole experience still bothered Steve.
What bothered him was that while he, a very wealthy man, was surviving his liver's failure, others were not so lucky. Specifically, he was upset because, while he was able to afford the costs of multiple-listing and a private jet that could ferry him to any hospital in the country at a moment's notice, others in California could not; they had to stay in California and hope. He knew that 400 people died hoping.
What bothered him was that while he, a very wealthy man, was surviving his liver's failure, others were not so lucky. Specifically, he was upset because, while he was able to afford the costs of multiple-listing and a private jet that could ferry him to any hospital in the country at a moment's notice, others in California could not; they had to stay in California and hope. He knew that 400 people died hoping.
Steve told Maria Shriver, California's first lady, that her husband needed to encourage organ donors. Steve decided to do something about it.
At a dinner in December, Steve sat next to Maria Shriver, John F. Kennedy's niece and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's wife. Steve told her the whole story of his liver transplant. He complained that California doesn't do enough to encourage people to become organ donors. He told Maria that she should get her husband to do something about it -- which California should require people who want drivers' licenses to say whether or not they want to be organ donors.
The First Lady talked to her husband. Then the Governor called Steve. The Governor called State Senator Alquist, who he knew to be a long time advocate for organ donation. Suddenly, a cause that couldn't find its way into a bill for two or more years was set to become State Senate Bill 1395. All thanks to Steve Jobs -- and his now-departed liver.
Deacon Keith Fournier asks that you join with us and help in this vital mission by sending this article to your family, friends, and neighbors
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