Curiously, I went to fill out the survey linked from Larry's post, and after I indicated that I don't have vocal cord paralysis, the survey was over for me. Somehow, I'm surprised they weren't interested in collecting denominator / negative information from those without the condition.
They're not collecting information from people without the condition.
This is simply their way of getting rid of people who shouldn't be filling in the survey.
I think it's actually a reasonable UI decision. They could have done it one of two ways:
1. Have the page say, "Fill in the survey ONLY IF you have the condition".
2. Anyone can fill in the survey. But the first question determines whether you are a candidate or not.
They chose #2.
I'm surprised by the business decision. My feeling is that there is often value in collecting information on people without the condition (negative data), should those people somehow feel compelled to participate.
No doubt he'll open his wallet and for research that will help others that still haven't had the vocal cord issue.
http://www.voicehealth.org/research.php
However, the survey does not give you the option to select for other conditions say, RRP.
http://www.voicehealth.org/research.php#rrp
One would think that they would try to capitalize on the publicity of Larry's post to try to gather as much data as possible for various conditions and not just vocal cord paralysis.
It appears they have to follow strict medical checkups after the operation and thus have to leave work to attend these appointments. As such, many are denied jobs or are conveniently fired from their positions. And even though the law protects them from some of this discrimination it's hard and expensive to prove the discrimination.