The article says they made their decision to leave him on the way up, not down. If the guy was still responding & able to take nourishment, some of the 40 man group could {should?] have tried to get him down to the highest established camp which I think would be at about 22,000 feet.
Which is still in the death zone.
It also depends on the obstacles between the dying climber and the route home.
There is one perilous cliff called The Hillary Step- named after the former first lady... ; )
If I recall, it is a 100 foot drop straight down an ice cliff.
It is near the summit, in the vicinity of where the climber was found. Was he above the Hillary Step? Or below it?
What other obstacles were there?
There's a lot about the mountain and this story we don't know.