Tennessee Hospital Confirms Jobs Liver Transplant

Confirming a weekend report in the Wall Street Journal that Steve Jobs underwent a liver transplant, Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute of Memphis, Tenn., said on Monday that it had performed the procedure on the Apple CEO. The hospital's announcement came after receiving permission from Jobs.

According to James D. Eason, the program director and chief of transplantation at the institute, Jobs received the transplant because he was the sickest patient at the institution when the donated organ became available. According to the hospital release, Jobs had the highest MELD score--Model for End-Stage Liver Disease--among patients of his blood type at the time of the procedure.

The press release goes on to say that "Mr. Jobs is now recovering well and has an excellent prognosis."

The hospital did not confirm when the procedure took place. According to the original Journal report, Jobs received the transplant two months ago. Indeed, several sources have already reported that the Apple CEO is back at work, albeit on a part-time schedule.

Jobs first announced he was taking a leave of absence to deal with undisclosed health issues in January, and that he would return to work at the end of June.