Meet Transplant Surgeon Hiroshi Sogawa, MD, MBA, CPE, FACS

Why It Matters

By increasing the pool of available livers and improving donor safety, the living‑donor program directly reduces wait‑list deaths and reshapes the economics of transplant care.

Key Takeaways

• Living donor liver transplants expand access for patients lacking deceased organs
• Program emphasizes minimally invasive techniques to improve donor safety
• Goal: enable critically ill patients to return home post‑transplant
• Streamlined process reduces wait times for liver transplantation candidates
• Surgeon finds transplant outcomes deeply rewarding and motivates his practice

Summary

In a recent interview, transplant surgeon Hiroshi Sogawa, MD, MBA, CPE, FACS, outlines his center’s approach to liver transplantation, emphasizing a robust living‑donor program and a shift toward minimally invasive techniques.

Sogawa explains that the living‑donor pathway is designed to streamline donor evaluation, shorten wait times, and provide a viable alternative for patients who cannot secure a deceased‑donor organ. By adopting laparoscopic and robotic methods, the team aims to make donor surgery less invasive, reducing complications and accelerating recovery.

He notes that “seeing a critically ill patient return home to their family after transplant is incredibly rewarding,” citing cases where patients with end‑stage cirrhosis and liver cancer have achieved full recovery thanks to the living‑donor graft.

The program’s expansion could alleviate national organ shortages, lower transplant‑list mortality, and set a new standard for donor safety, prompting other institutions to adopt similar minimally invasive, donor‑centric models.

Original Description

For more information on Dr. Sogawa or #YaleMedicine, visit: https://www.yalemedicine.org/specialists/hiroshi-sogawa.

Hiroshi Sogawa, MD, MBA, CPE, FACS is Professor of Surgery (Pending) at Yale School of Medicine and Surgical Director of the Liver Transplant Program at Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Hospital. Dr. Sogawa is a highly accomplished abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary surgeon with over two decades of clinical, academic, and leadership experience in transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery. He is widely recognized for his expertise in liver, intestine, multivisceral, kidney, and pancreas transplantation, with particular distinction in living donor liver transplantation, multi-organ transplantation, and minimally invasive hepatobiliary surgery. His practice reflects a deep commitment to expanding access to life-saving transplantation while ensuring the highest standards of safety, innovation, and patient-centered care. Prior to joining Yale, Dr. Sogawa served as Professor of Surgery at New York Medical College and Associate Director of Liver Transplantation at Westchester Medical Center, where he also held leadership roles as Vice Chair of Education, Surgical Clerkship Director, and Associate Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program. Under his leadership, the liver transplant program at Westchester saw significant growth and modernization, with improved outcomes and an enhanced culture of collaboration among surgical, medical, and support teams. Earlier in his career, Dr. Sogawa was a key member of the transplant team at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, one of the largest and most prestigious organ transplant programs in the United States, where he contributed to the program’s continued excellence and national prominence. He completed his clinical fellowship in multi-organ transplant and hepatobiliary surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, remaining on faculty there early in his career. In addition, he completed a research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, focusing on transplant immunology and immune tolerance — work that continues to inform his interest in innovative approaches to immunosuppression and graft survival. Dr. Sogawa’s leadership philosophy emphasizes teamwork, mentorship, and continuous improvement. He has been instrumental in advancing the use of novel technologies, such as machine perfusion for organ preservation and minimally invasive techniques for donor and recipient surgery. He is passionate about fostering a culture of excellence and empathy, mentoring the next generation of surgeons, and building inclusive, high-performing teams. An active member of national and international transplant societies, Dr. Sogawa has delivered numerous invited lectures and contributed to peer-reviewed research advancing the field of transplantation. He also holds an MBA from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, and a CPE (Certified Physician Executive) designation from American Association for Physician Leadership, further enriching his ability to lead complex clinical programs with strategic vision and operational excellence. At Yale, Dr. Sogawa is dedicated to growing and strengthening the liver transplant program to serve more patients across the region, expanding access to living donor transplantation, developing a robust transplant oncology service, and integrating cutting-edge research and innovation to improve outcomes and quality of life for transplant recipients.