Ajay Desai

Deputy head of service and paediatric intensive care unit consultant

Area of expertise: extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), cardiac intensive care

Biography

Dr Ajay Desai is the deputy head of service and consultant in paediatric critical care at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. He brings extensive specialist expertise, having served 16 years as a consultant in paediatric cardio-respiratory intensive care unit and director of the paediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) programme at the Royal Brompton Hospital from 2010 to 2026.

Dr Desai co-chairs the EuroELSO paediatric extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) working group and holds a diploma in executive master’s in leadership and management (EMLM Level 7). His research spans over 40 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters focused on advanced mechanical circulatory support and human factors in crisis resource management. He sits on the Paediatric Critical Care Society UK Council as the co-chair of the science and education committee.

Further information

Dr Desai completed his postgraduate paediatric training in Mumbai, India. He gained further experience in paediatric intensive care and retrieval medicine in London at St Mary's, Royal Brompton and Great Ormond Street hospitals, and the Children's Acute Transport Service (CATS). He supplemented his cardiac intensive care training with a year of fellowship in paediatric cardiology at Royal Brompton Hospital prior to his appointment as a consultant in 2010.