Steve Jobs Had a Liver Tranplant: Report

Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who has been on an extended medical leave since mid-January, had a liver transplant two months ago, reports the Wall Street Journal. He is still on target to return at the end of June, according to the report.

There has been much speculation over the health of Steve Jobs since 2008, when he appeared gaunt and somewhat ill at WWDC. Since then, he admitted to skipping Macworld in January for health reasons, though he said it was a "hormone imbalance that has been 'robbing' me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy." He then took the aforementioned extended medical leave.

In August 2004, Jobs underwent successful surgery to treat a rare form of pancreatic cancer, which sidelined him until September of that year. Much of the speculation over the past year had been over whether that cancer had returned.

There were in fact, rumors about Jobs needing surgery very early on in his medical leave, though rumors then centered around his pancreas, rather than a liver transplant.

William Hawkins, a doctor specializing in pancreatic and gastrointestinal surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., told the WSJ that the type of slow-growing pancreatic tumor Jobs had will generally spread to another organ during a patient's lifetime. He indicated that the liver is frequently targeted. Hawkins has not treated Jobs.

"All total, 75% of patients are going to have the disease spread over the course of their life."

During Steve Jobs' absence, COO Tim Cook has run the company, in what some would say is a fine fashion. This has led to speculation of a possible "passing of the torch" soon, with Jobs remaining on the Board of Directors.

These revelations will also bring up the issue of privacy: many were critical of Apple for not being fully open on Steve Jobs' condition, primarily because Jobs is a rare executive whose importance to the company is considered so great by shareholders that a mere "Steve Jobs has the flu" story can cause a drop in the stock. Well, not really, but it has been said that Jobs is so important that the question arises: which is more important: Jobs’ right to privacy or the public’s right to know?

Apple, naturally, has refused to comment, with a spokesperson saying only:

"Steve continues to look forward to returning at the end of June, and there's nothing further to say."