The Full Story of Steve Jobs' Liver Ordeal

How he put his wealth to work, and pushed to save others' lives, too
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 20, 2010 10:23 AM CDT
The Full Story of Steve Jobs' Liver Ordeal
Apple Inc. Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs gestures on stage during an event at Apple Inc. in Cupertino, Calif., Thursday, April 8, 2010.   (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

You can thank Steve Jobs' bum liver for the law California is about to pass that boosts organ donation. Jobs survived his bout with liver failure purely because he's rich, Business Insider reveals, and that bothered him. The Apple CEO was able to fly his private jet around the country, registering on the organ donor rolls at dozens of hospitals. That's something no normal person could afford, because most insurance plans allow registration at only one hospital.

Jobs' organ eventually came from a hospital in Memphis. Doctors recommended staying in town for a month after the surgery, so his lawyers formed a corporation just to buy him a mansion there. After his convalescence, he decided to do something for the non-mansion crowd. He had dinner with Maria Shriver and said her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, should take action on the issue. Mere days later, a bill that had languished for years was on the fast track. (More Steve Jobs stories.)

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