ECMO

ECMO, short for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, is an advanced life-support technology that does the work of the heart, the lungs, or both, when they are too sick to keep the body supplied with oxygen. Blood is drawn out of the body through a tube, passed through a machine that adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide just as healthy lungs would, and then returned warmed to the body. By taking over this vital task, ECMO gives badly damaged organs a chance to rest and recover, or it keeps a patient alive while the medical team treats the underlying cause or arranges further treatment. It is used only in intensive care for the most serious, but potentially reversible, heart and lung emergencies, and it is run continuously by a specialised team around the clock. Because it demands rare expertise and resources, ECMO is available only in a small number of highly equipped centres.