Donald L. Tschirhart, MD

Donald Tschirhart, MD, received his medical doctorate from the University of Southern California. He went on to a residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center; then to a fellowship in Surgical Pathology with Para Chandrasoma, MD. Within his five-year residency, Dr. Tschirhart devoted an entire year to the study of transfusion medicine with Ira Shulman, MD.

After completing his training, Dr. Tschirhart became the Director of Transfusion Medicine and a Staff Pathologist at St. Vincent Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles; a large tertiary care facility with advanced cardiac surgery, kidney transplant, liver transplant, ear surgery and oncology services. The transfusion service included a donor room and apheresis service and grew to support a transfusion-free surgery program. Dr. Tschirhart was a pathologist for one of the largest renal transplant programs and became the primary pathologist for the liver transplant program, training under Jake Demetris and Randall Lee at the University of Pittsburgh. He also acted as the primary pathologist for the House Ear Clinic, the world’s foremost ear surgery center and a major center for skull base surgery. He was an active part of the Cancer Center and ran the tumor board at St. Vincent for several years.

Dr. Tschirhart became the Director of the Laboratory and Chairman of the Department of Pathology at St. Vincent Medical Center. He was active in medical staff governance and rose to become President of the Medical Staff. He sat on the Board of Directors and participated in strategic planning for the hospital.

Dr. Tschirhart is a fellow of the College of American Pathologists and has served as an inspector and an inspection team leader. He is also experienced in CLIA inspections. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and the Arizona Society of Pathologists.

Dr. Tschirhart has had a wide variety of research interests in his career. He worked briefly as a research biochemist for Redken Cosmetics. During his training he had a long association with the Alzheimer’s Disease research laboratory of Carol Miller, MD, that started a life-long love of neuropathology. His association with Thomas Noguchi, MD, lead to a CAP workshop and publications in forensic pathology. His association with large kidney and liver transplant programs enabled him to pursue original work in those areas. His association with the House Ear Clinic allowed him to publish rare cases from their world-wide consultation service.

Dr. Tschirhart came to Arizona in 2016 and became a Staff Pathologist and Director of Transfusion Medicine at the Phoenix VAHC. He is married and has a teenage son. His interests include cooking, music, art and architecture.

American Society of Clinical Pathologists
Arizona Society of Pathologists
College of American Pathologists