March 22, 2010
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I Almost Died
Steve Jobs said that he almost died while waiting for a liver transplant. Here is the link: Link
Steve Jobs is the CEO of Apple and has been the leader of an organization that has produced products that are innovative.
It is interesting to me that Steve Jobs with all of his money almost died because he had to wait like any other person.
It caused me to think about the priority list of those needing a liver. For example, what would happen if President Obama needed a liver transplant? He is the President. Should we just let the President die while waiting on the list? Or should we bump him up?
I guess I am wondering if a person who is contributing to society in a more significant way should get sort of bumped to the top.
Do you think Steve Jobs should have been bumped to the top for a liver transplant because of his contributions to society?
Comments (103)
Um…no.
@squeakysoul - exactly.
You mean there’s no app for that? OOOOH! GOT HIM!
I thought you already died?
No. No one should be bumped up for reasons like that.
@DrugInducedDuck - hahahahaha oh man.
No. Should Jobs get bumped up on the list over, say a middle class war vet? Because he’s a kazillionaire? Who says what a “contribution” is? And do those who get to say get priority over everyone else? I don’t think so. He waits like everyone else.
I’m pretty sure the President has dibs.
And, no, I don’t think that Jobs should get preferential treatment. He doesn’t run the country (allegedly).
It’ll be interesting to see how (or if) things change when the Health Care Bill gets put into action.
No.
no
I think the president should have to wait like anyone else. People are people, social status be damned. As far as I know, no one looks at the donor list and decides who is contributing to society in a “more significant” way.
(Oh, and Steve Jobs should have to wait, too.)
It doesn’t matter if the President or the Pope is in need of a transplant… If someone else is higher on the priority list, they should be getting it first. Who am I kidding though? If Obama needed a transplant, we all know he would get it over a young innocent child.
http://nickichica.xanga.com/723333422/do-you-believe-you-are-all-free-and-equal/
I don’t think anyone should get special treatment over anyone else.
But I’m sure the president would get moved to the top, whether I think it’s right or not.
Which I don’t.
No. And I am actually surprised he didn’t get bumped up.
That’s hard to say.
I think some people should get bumped up, like the president obviously. This guy tho, no, CEOs are a dime a dozen so I don’t think he’s any more entitled then joe average person.
I don’t know. All I know is that if President Obama had died waiting for transplant there would be a 5 second moment of silence from the Republicans before they plan to clean house and start taking over. So, let’s not put that to the test, eh?
No, I don’t think money should ever be the strong suit. I guess if I had loads of money with a child or other loved one in that shape I would try with all I could to make something happen. That’s just human nature to do whatever it takes to save a loved one. If it were me that needed it, I would say I can wait for God in His timing to either make it happen or take me home. Either way would be fine with me, I’m ready to go AND ready to stay, whatever He desires! But when it’s a loved one, I change tunes, because I don’t know their heart, I only know my own.
Hell no. Who gets to decide whose life is more important and whose is not? No one is today’s society is morally wise enough to make these decisions. Therefore, it is more moral to be impartial rather than attempt to do the right thing.
Obama would support keeping his name on the wait list. Healthcare equality, remember? Except a lot of people would try to get it to him faster…
yeah I thought money allowed special treatment. hmm…interesting.
No.
nope.
No.
I think if we let the market handle organs for transplant and what not then there would be no need for a waiting list. Unfortunately too many people are scared of the idea of paying people for organs.
i don’t think steve jobs should be bumped up necessarily, but i think the president should be. i’m not sure where i stand on senators and other government officials, though.
In his position as a CEO–no. I think people who save lives ie humanitarians should only have special medical priviledges.
I think he should haev went overseas and gotten a liver the instant he knew he needed one. Why chance it?
@mynameisblueskye - LOL.
There is the question of how do you determine who is more important than who. Tricky. I would hate to think my life is less important because I’m not churning out nifty gadgets.
I think the liver donor should get to decide. If, after I die, I want my organs to be sold to the highest bidder, I should have every right to do that and pass the proceeds on to the charity (or individual) of my choice.
But, hey, that’s just me…
@DrugInducedDuck LMAO
@And_I_love - You might not have a kid, but what if you did? Would you be okay with having Obama get through in front of him/her just because he is “more important”? We got into an argument a while ago and you asked me never to talk to you again… I was just surprised you replied to me on here. Might be because I changed my picture. Just so you know, I have nothing against your opinion. I just like understanding both sides of the coin. Sorry for all the questions. It’s just the only way to figure it out.
@DrugInducedDuck - LOL nice one
The President, yes. Jobs? nah…
Well if rich people don’t wanna wait in line, they should start a private health facility, with a separate supply of organs.
isnt there ways to shorten the list and bump your way up? i’m sure i’ve read about it before
Eh, if we just start harvesting organs from inmates we’ll have plenty for everyone!
NO!
I think Jobs would be able to just buy a liver off the black market.
All names should stay in the order they’re put on the list. Unless there’s a reliable way to determine the time a person has left based on the current condition of their liver.
The President (or the Presidency) is a whole different deal than a CEO. A CEO doesn’t rate the legal machinery to efffect a transfer of power while he’s under anesthesia–at least on a national level. The CEO might disagree.
But to answer the question–no.
It sounds like he didn’t exploit his wealth & power. I think he deserves a lot of credit for that. He’s willing to submit to the common fate of men.
Get rid of restrictions on selling organs. Although it sucks that someone would have to give up his/her life for another to live but if their family will be set for life it might be worth the sacrifice. Steve Jobs probably has done more for the world than any elected official and I don’t remember Apple bombing Pakistan and sending more troops to Afghanistan.
there are no exceptions to the rule. the only reason mr. jobs had to wait is because he allowed it, and even so saying that he might have died waiting is no more true than saying he might have been hit by lightning.
If you have the power and money you can buy yourself whatever you want whenever you want. That fact that mr. jobs didn’t just proves that he plays by the rules.
Pledge to donate your organs. Your organs are priceless to the those who need them the most.
Yes.
@mrcolorful - We could just farm fetuses for organs.
Everyone is on an equal footing. If the choice was between me and a little kid, though, I’d say give it to the kid.
no. i can possibly see in the event that the president needed one, but not the CEO of apple. i think the president is probably the only person i can see being bumped up the list.
No, because other people (mothers, fathers, teachers) are contributing too.
It’s a really good question, though. It raises the issue also of “should someone who leads a healthy lifestyle have priority over a heavy drinker who may well ruin their new liver, too?”
nope. nope. nope.
Well if he survives means by being bumped at the top meaning someone else will die instead… Scales are always shity altho I hardly belive that these rich people don’t have dubles and everything prepared in front. However they can afford to do medical things illeagily + noone will know. ^^
@DrugInducedDuck - THE WIN COMMENT
Yes. He should. As we all know celebrities and the rich are our superiors, and as such, we should worship them blindly and make sure they achieve whatever is as close to immortality as possible.
Of course the president would get the bump and many others from gov. upper tear. should they more to be the question…no not based on the consitution. they are suppose to be servants of the people. OH OH…
BlaH.
A person’s worth to society as a whole should definitely be considered. Steve Jobs runs a company that employs a lot of people and is one of the few American innovators left. Keeping him alive most certainly benefits a lot more people than your average accountant or truck driver.
Money or importance should not matter, get in line like everyone else.
Nope. Life is life. Regardless if you are Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, or the guy under the bridge. You have to wait in line all the same.
No. No human life is worth more than another.
Always nice to have another blog buddy! I’m behind on my posts but I’ll try to get caught up.
No. Is his life more valuable than the life of someone else who is not making contributions to society? What are the criteria by which that is evaluated? Who establishes those criteria? As sad as it may be, people have to wait their turn for these things. Although, with the new Obamacare, The Anointed One may have this all figured out and he may simply decide who gets the transplants and in what order.
no, life is life.
No.
It doesn’t seem right that anyone should get bumped up for any reason. At the same time as I say that, I also say that I am very glad that I am not in a position to make such decisions. What if, for instance, you were the guy to decide who gets first shot at a new liver or any body part, and your own child was on the list….it would be pure torture NOT to bump him/her up in line. I feel the same about the death penalty. I don’t disagree with it at all, and I think that is is justified and deserved in many cases, but would I want to be the one to administer the lethal injection, or press the button, or whatever? Nope. I may think they deserve it fully, but I really don’t think I could bring myself to actually DO it.
I would imagine that equality for all would stand even if Obama needed an organ. However considering that the president of the US is pretty vital to our country I would see why they’d want to bump him.
“Defendants more likely to be sentenced to death if victims are of high status“
http://sciencebloggers.blogspot.com/2010/03/defendants-more-likely-to-be-sentenced.html
thought it was relevant. justice is already skewed/distorted.
wait, you sure he didn’t do anything under the table to secure a liver for transplant?
NO. He is a human being, just like anyone else. There was no need to bump him up on that list, and he needed to wait, even if it meant that he may have died.
Oh man, I don’t know.
I long for the day when medical science renders such questions obsolete.
I’m sure a liver would magically appear if the President needed one.
Organ donation needs to be decided on reality TV like everything else
No.
yes. he definitely has more worth than some random homeless man off the the streets next to Home Depot
Brace yourselves–with increasingly socialized medicine, questions like this will come up more and more often….
NO
I don’t think anyone has the right to decide that sort of thing. it’s only fair to leave the waiting list how it is, rather than pushing back certain people or bumping forward others based on which people are more important to the ones deciding.
No. Although you’re right, he has contributed a lot- it’d be unfair to bump him up. Who is to say that all those people he’d skip hadn’t made amazing contributions too but just in different ways? And if that was a certain criteria for people to bumped up- how would you make guidelines? Only if you’ve helped 1 million people you can be bumped up?
No. Never.
All human life is of equal value. Are YOU willing to make the recipient decision then face the family of the one who lost out?
If there were a ticking bomb, and Jack Bauer needed a liver transplant, I’d certainly bump him up on the list.
@quicksandbuddy - He runs many ‘fashionable’ College students’ lives. Tee hee?
Certainly NOT! They are people just like anyone else. Wait your turn.
He should have ordered one from China.
I think everyone should have to wait, even the president. We have a presidential line of succession for a reason.
No, not everyone has used his products.
No. In the eyes of God we are all equal so he should have to wait his turm just like the rest of us.
Only children should be moved to the top…they deserve a shot at life. Adults (especially old ones) had their shot at living.
whether you have money and are a blue collar person in society i believe he should be treated just the same as someone who has no fame or money. We all matter in life we are either someone’s daughter or son and no one should get VIP because they have money.
@DrugInducedDuck - Nice.
no and I also don’t believe he wasn’t
No. That’s just wrong to do to the people who have been waiting forever.
Good thing that has already happened. Not long from now the government will tell him they lost his liver transplant form and he needs to fill out a new one.
Of course processing it takes a couple of weeks. Besides, it is 4:01, they stopped taking new liver transplant forms one minute ago. Looks like it will have to wait until Monday…
@DrugInducedDuck - HAHAHA, good one.
@OurUnspokenTrust - very well-said. I think you have a very good point.
The President should have to go to the clinic, like people on his beloved heathcare scam.
I might like the man and the products he produces, but that does not mean he gets a free pass to the top simply because he is “important”.
@NightCometh - Wrong President there, chicky.
@sarahb_86 - I’m not stupid. I mean the “President” Barack Hussein Obama.
@NightCometh - Never said you were? Damn. I was actually about to repost saying I had mis-read Theo’s post.
No.
That’s why I’m not an organ donor. My mom drilled this irrational fear into me that if somebody such as Steve Jobs, kazilionaire, was dying, and I was rushed to the er after an accident, and I was a match, then they would “fail” to save me.
It should be a matter of who’s at the most imminent risk of their life… as it has traditionally been. “Rationing” healthcare is the antithesis of this, as it inserts political guidelines into the equation. It also inserts elitism. Neither Jobs, nor Obama or any citizen is to be held one above the other for their “contributions”. That’s a subjective factor… and a dangerous one in a free society. Another aspect of this is to illustrate the old adage, “There’s no such thing as ‘minor surgery’”.
The problem isn’t whether who deserves what. The problem is that people aren’t donating enough – a liver transplant is more than just numbers, its about finding that right match.
This goes with anything – blood, marrow, organs. Although we are unique, we are still human. And with 6 billion humans on this planet, there’s a darn good chance that we match with someone who needs something that we have.
If you were to ask me to donate a body part, however, I do think twice. Forgive me Father, I am selfish. It his human nature to sin =….
@squeakysoul - exactly.
let him wait. i do just fine without an Iphone
bumped to the top of the list because of his contributions to society ? are you kidding me? what about all those 21, 000 people in cali also waiting for a liver transplant ?