Tracy Morgan, Steve Jobs and THE LIST

I am in no means a consumer of celebrity news, however, one piece of recent news that did catch my eye was the news that Tracy Morgan, of 30 Rock fame (a show I do not watch), recently had a kidney transplant. For many, this hearkened back to April 2009, when Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs had a liver transplant. In both instances there seems to be two predominant responses to the news. The first response is fairly typical of anyone who has gone through a relatively serious medical treatment, which is well wishes, which I personally think is entirely appropriate. The second response, which I've notice in both the instances of Tracy Morgan and Steve Jobs is usually very cynical and in my opinion very myopic and ignorant. The response is to complain that these two people got special treatment because they are rich. That they jumped ahead of other deserving people on the transplant list. That somehow there was something inherently unfair or underhanded about these particular people receiving their transplants. In fact, I admit that my initial gut reaction to these pieces of news was very similar. After some thought and consideration, however, I have a little bit of different view. I'm still not 100% sure that everything regarding these transplants was "above the board" so to speak, but consider this.

1. The news never mentions how long these guys waited for their transplants, just that they had them. Personally, I have no idea how long either of these people were on the list. In case of Steve Jobs, there had been reports of him being SERIOUSLY sick for years prior to his transplant, he could have been on the list that entire time. In the case of Tracy Morgan, I seem to recall hearing several years ago that he too was sick, so again, who knows how long he was on the list. They both MAY have waited just like everyone else.

2. All cynicism about how the transplant list works, aside, the list is need based, and I find it some what difficult (though not impossible) to believe that these guys got their transplants before others of greater need. In the case of Tracy Morgan, it could have simply been a case of finding a match, which helps A LOT with kidney transplants. So I tend to believe that the didn't somehow cheat the transplant list. See my next point for more about ghis

3. In Steve Jobs' case, he was on multiple lists in multiple states, to better his chances of getting an organ. He was able to do this because, yes, he is rich, and he could afford to travel to all those different places multiple times, and at a moments notice. I don't know a single person on the transplant list, who, if they had the financial wear-with-all, would do the exact same thing. I know I would have (though I was so ill before my transplant that I couldn't leave the ICU). I cannot fault him for doing this. There is nothing, dishonest, mean-spirited, or unfair about it.

4. Lastly, as I have already alluded to, we do not get the whole story from the celebrity news, so really, we don't know the true circumstances of the transplant and are not really in a place to judge its appropriateness.

I know the situation can seem unfair, especially to those people who are on the transplant list waiting, but I personally can't fault either of men for receiving their gift of life.

One note, this is certainly only my perspective, and should taken with a grain of salt, especially since, even though I have had a heart transplant, I have essentially zero experience with the transplant list. When I was placed on the list, on September 23, 2008, I was placed at status 1A, greatest need, because of this, and my chances of success with a transplant, I was placed at the top of the list for my blood type in my area. Furthermore, I live in Los Angeles, CA, where, unfortunately, many people lose their lives everyday from all manner of things. Because of these factors, I was only on the list for 8 hours, as my heart was found the very same day. Keep that in mind when reading this note.