Healing Through Living Liver Donation
Dr. Anjana Pillai grew up in a small village in southern India. Her father was the only doctor in the area. He came home from the city on weekends to treat patients who couldn't afford care. She remembers sitting on his lap while he worked and seeing how much people respected him. She thought he was the coolest person in the world and never considered any other career.
A Shift From Trauma Surgery to Liver Care
At first, Dr. Pillai dreamed of becoming a trauma surgeon. She loved fast-paced procedures and the hands-on nature of surgery. As she planned her future, she saw that trauma surgery meant long, unpredictable hours. She realized having the kind of life she wanted outside of medicine would be hard.
During her training at the University of Miami, she discovered gastroenterology (GI), the study of the digestive system, and hepatology, the study of the liver. She learned from top experts in the field, including Dr. Eugene Schiff, a famous liver specialist. As a GI fellow, she saw new treatments and advanced procedures used in liver care.
Why She Loves the Liver
The liver's complexity excites Dr. Pillai. Many doctors find liver patients intimidating, but she sees them as an interesting challenge. Liver diseases can have many different causes and show up in many ways. Treating these patients takes teamwork between different specialists. It also requires strong knowledge of the body and long-term care with patients.
Her work often involves supporting patients before and after liver transplants. For her, success isn't about winning awards. It's about seeing her patients live whole and healthy lives after treatment. When they thank her, she reminds them that the best thing they can do is care for themselves and enjoy the life they have.
Leading Innovation at the University of Chicago
Dr. Pillai works at the University of Chicago, which has one of the oldest transplant programs in the country. The hospital performed the first living donor liver transplant from an adult to a child and later from one adult to another.
Today, the center serves patients across the U.S. and other countries. Along with standard liver cancer treatments, they also run a transplant oncology program. This program helps patients with cancers that were once thought untreatable by transplants. Cancers like intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and colorectal cancer that have spread to the liver.
The university launched its Transplant Institute in 2016, and Dr. Pillai joined that same year. The institute focuses on tough cases and works to find solutions for patients turned away by other hospitals. The program has since grown steadily, earning a reputation for innovation.
The Power of the Liver—and Living Donation
The liver is a remarkable organ because it can regenerate. Many people know about deceased donor transplants, where someone who has died donates their organs to help others. In liver disease or cancer, the deceased donor's liver replaces the recipient's damaged liver. Unfortunately, there aren't enough deceased donor livers to meet the need. Thousands of people remain on waiting lists each year.
Living donor transplantation helps bridge the gap. In this surgery, a healthy person gives part of their liver. It's usually the left lobe for a child or the right lobe for an adult. If the donor is healthy and a good match, both their liver and the patient's liver grow back to almost full size within a few weeks.
This option is significant for patients whose medical scores don't reflect their illness. For example, the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease or MELD score prioritizes patients for liver transplants. It uses lab values like creatinine, INR, bilirubin, and sodium to assign a number between 6 and 40. Higher scores show greater urgency. But some symptoms aren't included in the score. This means some very sick patients may not get priority for a deceased donor liver. For them, a living donor may be the best chance.
A Personal Lesson in Communication
Dr. Pillai's dedication to her patients comes from her medical training and personal experience. Her father-in-law needed a double lung transplant during the COVID-19 pandemic. She experienced the process as a family member. Strict visitor limits meant only she and her mother-in-law could be with him, and not at the same time. Communication from the care team was inconsistent. She often waited hours for updates.
This experience showed her how vital clear and timely communication is for patients and families. Now, during her hospital rounds, she prioritizes sitting with patients. She explains the plan for the day and calls family members who cannot be there in person. She strives to ensure her patients feel seen, cared for, and informed—the same as she would want for her loved ones.
A Career Rooted in Compassion and Challenge
Dr. Anjana Pillai grew up watching her father care for patients in rural India. Today, she leads complex transplant cases in Chicago. She used two things to shape her career: a love for solving challenging medical problems and a commitment to helping people. She takes on the challenge of liver disease for the science and the chance to change—and often save—lives.
In her eyes, the most meaningful reward is seeing her patients live well, pursue their goals, and know she contributed to giving them that chance.
