ICSUS Section President in 2021 and current ICS World President Elect, Thavam Thambi-Pillai, MD is interviewed by the Jaffna Monitor

In many ways, Prof. Thavam Thambi-Pillai stands as an inspiring role model for Sri Lankan Tamils-and a guiding light for a community long in search of grounded, visionary leadership. A distinguished transplant surgeon, educator, and institutional leader, he became the first Sri Lankan Tamiland possibly the first Tamil globally-to be elected World President of the International College of Surgeons (ICS). His journey is a masterclass in transforming tragedy into triumph and pain into profound purpose.

Born in Colombo, Prof. Thavam was just 13 when the 1983 anti-Tamil pogroms tore through the capital. He watched helplessly as his family home was burned to the ground by mobs blinded by hate. Though he left Sri Lanka shortly before the arrival of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), he would later learn that two of his close friends-including the brilliant Ahilan Thiruchelvam-had been brutally gunned down. These are the kinds of events that could sow a lifetime of bitterness in any teenager’s heart. But Thavam chose a different path. He channeled his grief into quiet service and academic brilliance.

After earning his medical degree with honours in Ireland, Prof. Thavam trained in world-class institutions in Philadelphia and Cincinnati, eventually becoming a transplant surgeon of global repute. He now serves as Professor and Vice Chair of Surgery at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine and is Surgical Director of the Sanford Transplant Center in Sioux Falls.

Yet what sets him apart is not just professional success, but his enduring commitment to Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged regions. While some diaspora voices call for sanctions and economic disengagement from Sri Lanka-seemingly indifferent to the fact that we, Sri Lankan Tamils, must still live and build our lives here-Prof. Thavam offers a more practical and intellectually grounded alternative.

Whenever he finds time, Prof. Thavam returns to his karma bhoomi-Jaffna. Over the past decade, he has led numerous medical missions, conducted training programs, and helped build institutional capacity. In 2023, he personally mentored a group of surgeons and physicians at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital in performing renal transplant surgeries. Today, those same teams are carrying out complex procedures independently.

He is also a co-founder of the International Medical Health Organization (IMHO), a charity that has implemented over USD 15 million worth of health projects in 15 countries.

To read more, click HERE to download the entire interview in PDF format.