Steve Jobs had liver transplant, says report

By Steven Musil on 22 June 2009, 9:58am

Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave from Apple for the past six months, received a liver transplant in Tennessee two months ago, according to a report on Friday in The Wall Street Journal that did not cite sources.

Earlier this year, Apple's CEO was reported to be relocating from California to Tennessee, which has a shorter waiting list for patients seeking organs, the report noted. In January, after Jobs announced that he would step aside from his day-to-day duties for a six-month medical leave of absence, Bloomberg reported that Apple's CEO was considering a liver transplant. In a telephone interview at the time, Jobs refused to comment on his health status.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but an Apple representative told the Journal that Jobs "continues to look forward to returning at the end of June, and there's nothing further to say."

Jobs is expected to return to the helm of Apple this month after nearly six months of medical leave. Jobs announced in January that he would be stepping down temporarily from the chief executive post while recuperating from a hormone imbalance. Some hoped his return to the company would coincide with an appearance at the Worldwide Developers' Conference earlier this month to announce the new iPhone 3G S, but that did not pan out for the Apple faithful.

Jobs, 54, has been the subject of heated speculation regarding his health since last June's WWDC, when he appeared to have lost a great deal of weight. At the time, Apple insisted that Jobs' health was a private matter but revealed in early January that Jobs was suffering from a hormone imbalance that was impeding his body's ability to absorb certain proteins.

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.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, has been running the company during Jobs' absence.