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Friday, January 16, 2009

Report: Apple's Jobs Considering Liver Transplant

By Dunstan Prial

FOXBusiness

Apple (AAPL) founder and Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs is considering a liver transplant, according to a report by Bloomberg News on Friday.

The procedure is a result of complications stemming from Jobs’ treatment for pancreatic cancer in 2004, the news service reported.

Jobs, whose increasingly thin appearance has generated much speculation among Apple shareholders and the media, has declined to provide details about his condition.

In a statement released Jan. 5, Jobs said he was suffering from a “hormone imbalance” and that the remedy for his weight loss was “relatively simple.” On Jan. 14, he announced that he was taking a five-month medical leave because his health issues were “more complex” than he originally thought.

In a telephone interview with Bloomberg, Jobs said he won’t comment further on his health.

“Why don’t you guys leave me alone -- why is this important?” Jobs said.

Bloomberg said Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to comment, and that the company’s board members -- including Intuit Chairman Bill Campbell, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Google CEO Eric Schmidt -- either couldn’t be reached or declined to comment.

Stanley Sporkin, a former federal judge and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement director told Bloomberg that companies have a requirement to clear up any misleading information on a CEO’s health. While the SEC doesn’t require a company to disclose health information, the company still should, he said.

Apple’s shares lost 57% last year.

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