Steve Jobs’ Transplant Raises Issue of Geographic Disparity
It is now being reported on cnn.com that Jobs did, indeed, receive his liver transplant in Tennessee - at Methodist Hospital in Memphis, to be specific. Tennessee has one of the shortest wait times in the country, so it is logical that an individual with resources to travel would go where there is a short wait time, good outcomes, etc. Similarly, in Texas, there are parts of our state where waiting time is shorter than other locations. This means that someone willing and able to travel can get listed (multiply listed, if desired) where the wait may be shorter. It’s too complicated to go into the history of how our state is divided up here, but the fact is, geographic disparities do still exist. And probably always will. The message for potential recipients, I think, is - do your homework. If you have the resources to travel, you can figure out where the waiting times are shorter. And the take home message for everyone else - if we had more organs donated, patients wouldn’t have to be worried about trying to find the center with the shortest waiting times. Please encourage everyone you know to sign up to be a donor at www.donatelifetexas.net. (If you’re not in Texas, go to www.shareyourlife.org to find your state’s registry.) (These opinions are those of Laurie Reece, not necessarily the opinion of either the Texas Transplantation Society nor the Alliance for Paired Donation.)
