[3] Yeshi Dhonden was born into a family of peasants on 15 May 1927 in Namro, a village located in Lhoka, Tibet, south of the Yarlung Tsangpo River.

[6] At twenty he was recognized as the best in class at the Chakpori Institute of Tibetan Medicine, and was made an honorary doctor of the Dalai Lama.

From 1951 onward, he practiced medicine in Tibet in his native region, where he became known for his great efficiency after he had treated an influenza epidemic on the Tibetan-Bhutanese border that year.

[9] In Dharamshala, India, he refounded the Tibetan Institute of Medicine and Astrology in 1961 and served as its Director till 1966.

He was considered an icon on traditional Tibetan medicine and practices, and renowned for his contribution to cancer treatment.