Vikkineshwaran Siva Subramaniam

Hello, I’m Vik.

I’m a doctor from Malaysia, now living in London. I work as a registrar in transplant surgery. When I’m not in hospital, I’m usually growing plants. At the moment, mostly aroids.

The plants are everywhere. The seedlings are under the couch.

Vik smiling behind a large climbing aroid at a plant gathering — Plant meet, London. I definitely had room for this one.

The study

Work

I work as a registrar in transplant surgery at Hammersmith Hospital.

Clinical work: Kidney transplantation, organ retrieval and vascular access.
Current interests: Organ donation and organ regeneration.
Training: Surgical education and transplantation training.

Current work includes kidney donor acceptance, preservation and how transplant theatres run.

Writing

I write to work out what I think. The subjects range from medicine and plants to identity, grief and the occasional bad decision.

7 May 2026What Spain Made Me Rethink About Organ Donation
20 Jun 2026Every Storm Runs Out of Rain
29 Apr 2026Notes from a Rejected Organ
From the archiveHaggling on Pride Rock

These are a few pieces from Vikkipædia. The full archive lives on Substack.

Read all my writing on Vikkipædia

Vik’s bedroom with plants on shelves, hanging from a central pole and growing in humidity chambers — Bedroom, London. The humidity chambers have claimed the television wall.

The living room

People

I have a habit of joining things and then ending up on the committee.

European Aroid SocietyTreasurer
Herrick SocietyTreasurer
Childhood Cancer Caring Society of Kuala Lumpur (CARES)Past President and Medical Advisor
Malaysian Medics InternationalFounder, 2015

Vik with adult CARES volunteers at CARES Carnival 2025 in Kuala Lumpur — CARES Carnival 2025, Kuala Lumpur.

Vik’s living room with a green sofa, wooden coffee table and plant-covered shelves — Living room, London. The shelves stopped being enough some time ago.

The shared courtyard garden with flowers and vegetables between apartment buildings — The courtyard I share with neighbours.

Vik smiling with three adult family members on the steps of a temple — With my family.

The balcony

Plants

My balcony holds far more plants than a balcony reasonably should. I mainly grow Anthurium species and hybrids, with other aroids and the occasional begonia.

Back home in Malaysia

A tiered shelf of potted aroids along a tiled outdoor corridor in Malaysia

A pale aroid inflorescence opening among dark red sheaths and green stems

Three dark velvety heart-shaped leaves with pale veins growing in a tall pot

Deeply textured dark green heart-shaped leaves growing beside a tree trunk

From my plant journal

I use Instagram to record individual plants, their names and how they change in cultivation.

Under the couch

Experiments and sales

Updated August 2026

These are experiments, not advice. They are all still running, so I may be completely wrong. I’ll write them up properly when I have enough results to say anything useful.

Substrates

I’m growing similar seedlings in a traditional aroid mix, akadama and an aeroponic setup. It is too early to say which works best.

Humidity

I’m testing different humidity levels to see where growth is most stable. No winner yet.

Resilience

Can high-humidity Anthuriums learn to cope with an ordinary London flat? I’m trying to find out.

Temperature

I moved half my collection outside in February. They went through a UK winter and are now dealing with a heatwave. Some are doing well. Some very much are not.

Seedlings

Anthurium ‘Alto Fluminense’ S1 seedlings

These are seed-grown plants from a self-pollination of the mother plant, which came from a specialist grower in Brazil. Tray A is growing in akadama. Tray B is growing in molar clay.

Tray A with twelve individually labelled Alto Fluminense S1 seedlings growing in akadama — Tray A · akadama · A1–A12

Tray B with twelve individually labelled Alto Fluminense S1 seedlings growing in molar clay — Tray B · molar clay · B1–B12

The eBay listing is not public yet. Prices and UK delivery or collection terms will be added there.

Enquire on Instagram

The archive

Interviews and articles

Interviews and profiles

MIMS Malaysia · 21 Sep 2016
MMI – seeking to connect and support Malaysia’s medical students
Original page unavailable.
The original Q&A covered Malaysian Medics International, pressure on medical students, burnout, peer support and CARES.
New Straits Times · 1 Aug 2016
Medical graduates and the pressures they face
The Star · 8 Sep 2019
Contract posts – a bane of medical professionals
Free Malaysia Today · 11 Nov 2019
6,000 new doctors every year, not enough jobs
CodeBlue · 24 Dec 2020
Contract Doctors: Permanent Measure, But Not A Solution
Spice Bags / HeadStuff · 14 Dec 2022
Talking Malaysia with Vik Siva Subramaniam and Sham Hanifa

Quoted in

CodeBlue · 1 Jul 2019
Government Doctors Deplore Sexual Jokes, Racist Insults, Discrimination
Free Malaysia Today · 17 Mar 2020
Mass restrictions drastic but necessary, say experts
Free Malaysia Today · 12 Jan 2021
Medical groups say 2-week MCO not enough