ECMO turns a life saver during pandemic

Several critically ill COVID-19 patients who cannot be put on ventilator support surviving because of machine

A machine that functions as an artificial lung or heart has become a saviour of sorts for critically ill COVID-19 patients who cannot be put on ventilator support. With World Heart Day falling on Wednesday, more heart-specialist doctors are reportedly depending on it to save lives in the pandemic period.

Blood is drawn out of the body into the Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine and oxygen is mixed with it using a special bypass pump-circuit. The blood is then pumped back into the body. “Earlier, we rarely used the ECMO machine because of its cost and other reasons. After the pandemic struck, it has become more useful. Almost 50% of patients who can’t be put on ventilator support have survived because of this machine,” says Murali P. Vettath, chairman, Centre for Heart and Vascular Care, Meitra Hospital, Kozhikode.

The World Heart Foundation has come up with a theme ‘Use heart’ to mark the day. “World Heart Day is more crucial than ever as the world still struggles to fight COVID-19 and we have never been more aware of the importance of our own and our loved one’s health,” says the federation.