Apple News 2015: Steve Jobs Almost Had Tim Cook's Liver; CEO Offered Organ Transplant to Save Life

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Mar 17, 2015 04:47 AM EDT

In a biography of the former Apple CEO, it has been revealed that Tim Cook offered Steve Jobs the cure to his illness. However, Jobs refused Cook, and even got mad at him for offering.  

According to CNN, Cook had tried to offer up a part of his liver in order to save his boss from cancer. The information was revealed in the biography of the late Apple CEO, "Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader." 

In January of 2009, Jobs was suffering from ascites, which is a gastroenterological side effect of cancer that causes the belly to swell, reports Fast Company. Cook set out to find a solution to end his boss's suffering, proving his loyalty and his friendship. 

According to Uproxx, an excerpt from the book states, "One afternoon, Cook left the house feeling so upset that he had his own blood tested. He found that he, like Steve, had a rare blood type, and guessed that it might be the same. He started doing research, and learned that it is possible to transfer a portion of a living person's liver to someone in need of a transplant." 

Fast Company reports that the excerpt from the book also included the results of Tim Cook's research on the safety and success rate of liver transplant. It states, "About 6,000 living donor transplants are performed every year in the United States, and the rate of success for both donor and recipient is high. The liver is a regenerative organ. The portion transplanted into the recipient will grow to a functional size, and the portion of the liver the donor gives up will also grow back." 

With the blood match and his research, Cook firmly decided that he would give up a piece of his liver to save his boss and dear friend. He took a trip to Palo Alto, to the home of Steve. However, before Cook could even tell his friend of his plan, Jobs refused the offer. Uproxx shares the excerpt of Jobs' response. "No, [Steve Jobs] said. I'll never let you do that. I'll never do that." 

Cook said, "Somebody that's selfish doesn't reply like that....It was not, 'Are you sure you want to do this?' It was not, 'I'll think about it.' It was not, 'Oh, the condition I'm in...' It was, 'No I'm not doing that!...Steve only yelled at me four or five times during the 13 years I knew him, and that was one of them."  

Steve Jobs did have a liver transplant but died in 2011. Tim Cook has since taken over his position as Apple CEO. 

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