Dr. Shinji Uemoto

Dr. Shinji Uemoto is internationally recognized as one of the world's most accomplished liver transplant surgeons and a central figure in the development of living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) — the technique that has transformed the treatment of end-stage liver disease in Japan and much of Asia, where deceased-donor organ availability has historically been limited. He served as Professor and Chair of the Division of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic and Transplant Surgery at Kyoto University for many years, one of Japan's most prestigious academic surgical positions, before transitioning to clinical work at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo.

Kyoto University is where living-donor liver transplantation was pioneered in Japan, and Dr. Uemoto trained under and alongside some of the field's founding surgeons before becoming a leading figure himself. Under his leadership, Kyoto University's transplant program grew into one of the highest-volume and most internationally recognized liver transplant programmes in the world.

Dr. Uemoto has performed over 1,500 liver transplants over his career, including complex adult-to-adult LDLT cases, paediatric LDLT, and full deceased-donor transplantation. His technical and academic contributions to the field have been recognized through international society presidencies, visiting professorships across Asia, the Americas, and Europe, and extensive peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Uemoto graduated from Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine and completed his general surgery and hepatobiliary surgery training at Kyoto University Hospital. He earned his PhD from Kyoto University with research in experimental transplant immunology and hepatic ischaemia-reperfusion injury. He undertook research fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center — one of the world's leading transplant institutions — gaining exposure to the American approach to deceased-donor organ transplantation and immunosuppression protocols. He holds Fellowship of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and has been a leader in the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) and the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (IHPBA).

Dr. Uemoto's primary surgical specialty is liver transplantation in all its forms. In living-donor transplantation, he performs both right lobe and left lobe LDLT in adults, and reduced-size and split-liver transplants in paediatric recipients. Donor safety is a defining commitment — his program's approach to donor selection, operative planning, and post-operative care has been an international model for responsible LDLT. In deceased-donor transplantation, he performs whole-liver, split-liver, and reduced-size transplants.

Beyond transplantation, he performs the full range of hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery including major hepatectomy (right, left, extended), biliary reconstruction for complex bile duct injuries and strictures, and pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic and biliary malignancies. He has also developed expertise in liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma, including decision-making regarding the interface between resection and transplant in HCC patients.

Dr. Uemoto consults in Japanese and English. St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo has extensive international patient services including English-speaking coordinators, multilingual administrative support, and experience with international insurance. For liver transplantation, international patients who travel to Japan face specific regulatory considerations, as Japan's transplant system gives allocation priority to Japanese nationals for deceased-donor organs; living-donor transplantation with a compatible living donor is more accessible. Second opinions via video consultation for complex liver tumour or transplant candidacy assessments are available.

Dr. Uemoto has received the Japanese Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery's highest award for scientific contribution. He served as President of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (IHPBA) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS). He has been awarded honorary memberships in transplant societies in Europe and the Americas. He has published over 400 peer-reviewed articles, and his work on living-donor liver transplantation has been cited thousands of times in the transplant literature.