Steve Jobs had a liver transplant but it unraveled the flaws in Organ Transplant System

It is the geographic division that came in the forefront when Steve Jobs CEO of Apple got operated for liver transplant when he flew from California to Memphis. What does the geographic division of liver transplant means? It simply highlights the fact that a patient who has only few months to live can be denied a liver while a healthier person can get a liver transplant just because he is in a position to fly. 

It is in Memphis that the lists for liver transplant patients are shorter than that in California. The organ sharing network divides US into 11 regions and according to a rule most livers are allocated by using MELD (Model for end stage liver disease) system. MELD assigns scores to liver functions and overall health. Higher scores in the range of 6 to 40 imply those patients get priority to receiving a liver.

In the year 2008, about 17,000 American patients were on the list of liver transplant but only 6000 were lucky to get them. It is the organ system’s regional disparities on the access of liver are highly criticized by many doctors. 

The patients who can fly get themselves enlisted at multiple transplant centers in an attempt to get the liver transplantation done quickly by increasing the chances of receiving the organ. There is a need to change the local and regional organ distributing system.

The case of Steve Jobs only highlighted the issue of DISPARITY!!!