Dev M. Desai, MD

Dev M. Desai, MD, PhD, is a pediatric transplant surgeon and director of the pediatric transplant program at Phoenix Children's. Dr. Desai has a special interest in liver and kidney transplant surgery, as well as the use of shunts to manage blood flow to the liver and operations involving tumors of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder.

Dr. Desai was drawn to Phoenix Children's because of the organization's commitment to providing cutting-edge care to the children of Arizona and its support of his goal to provide the best surgical experience possible for children in need of liver or kidney transplant.

"Pediatric transplant surgery can create a lifelong change for children who have serious illnesses that keep them from living an active life," said Dr. Desai. "I am honored to play a role in offering a child a second chance at life and the opportunity to live a normal childhood."

After graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Austin, in Texas, Dr. Desai earned his medical and post graduate degrees from the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine. He completed his postdoctoral training, including surgical residency, a post-doctoral research fellowship and a transplant surgery fellowship, at Stanford University Medical Center in California.

Dr. Desai is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the pediatric liver review board for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and an American College of Surgeons Health Policy Scholar. He is also a member of the American Surgical Association, the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the International Pediatric Transplant Association, among others.

Dr. Desai has conducted extensive clinical research and published over 100 peer-reviewed findings in numerous notable publications including the journals Annals of Surgery, Pediatric Transplantation, Pediatric Anesthesia and Transplantation. He has presented at national and international conferences including the Academic Surgical Congress, the International Pediatric Transplant Congress and has been an invited visiting professor at both LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and Narayana Health in Bangalore, India.

Outside the operating room, Dr. Desai enjoys spending time outdoors playing golf and pickleball, as well as traveling.