Dr. S. Machele Donat

Dr. S. Machele Donat, MD, FACS, is a board-certified urologic surgeon with specialized expertise in treating cancers of the urinary tract, including bladder, urethral, kidney, testis, and prostate cancers, as well as rare malignancies such as urethral cancer and genitourinary sarcomas. She practices at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she brings a strong commitment to preserving function and quality of life in her surgical approach. Her training and board certification in urology underpin a clinical practice that emphasizes conservative and nerve-sparing techniques whenever oncologically appropriate, particularly for patients with superficial or invasive bladder cancer.

Dr. Donat is recognized for her extensive experience in bladder-sparing surgery and complex urinary reconstruction. For patients requiring cystectomy, she performs a full range of urinary diversion procedures, including continent urethral diversion (neobladder), continent stomal diversion, and ileal conduit construction, tailoring the approach to each patient's individual needs. In kidney cancer care, she prioritizes kidney-sparing surgery to protect renal function in patients who often present with complicating conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, or pre-existing kidney disease. She is also involved in research at Memorial Sloan Kettering evaluating ablative therapies that use heat or cold to destroy renal tumor cells.

Her research portfolio is broad, spanning the hereditary basis of bladder tumor recurrence and progression, the development of a familial and atypical bladder and upper urinary tract cancer registry, and the evaluation of new imaging methods for diagnosing genitourinary cancers. She is investigating a blood test for detecting metastatic bladder cancer and helping design institutional protocols for the acquisition and preservation of tissue, blood, and urine samples to support future prevention and treatment studies. A recognized leader in quality improvement, Dr. Donat also leads research aimed at minimizing postoperative complications, reducing hospital stays following major urologic surgery, and improving patients' overall quality of life after genitourinary cancer treatment.